Height 1.8 m Weight 85 kg | Name Matija Ljubek Role Olympic athlete | |
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Olympic medals Canoeing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's C-1 1000 metres People also search for Tamas Wichmann, John Wood, Vasyl Yurchenko, Aleksandr Rogov | ||
1976 Summer Olympics Montreal – Men's C 1 1000 metres
Matija Ljubek (22 November 1953 – 11 October 2000) was a Croatian sprint canoeist who competed in the 1970s and 1980s and later became a sports official.
Born in Belišće, Osijek-Baranja, Ljubek competed in four Summer Olympics where he won four medals. This included two golds (C-1 1000 m: 1976, C-2 500 m: 1984 with Mirko Nišović), one silver (C-2 1000 m: 1984 with Mirko Nišović), and one bronze (C-1 500 m: 1976). His trainer was Laszlo Hingl. He also won ten medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with four golds (C-1 1000 m: 1978, C-2 500 m: 1982, 1983; C-2 10000 m: 1985), three silvers (C-1 10000 m: 1981, C-2 1000 m: 1982, 1985), and three bronzes (C-1 10000 m: 1975, 1978; C-2 1000 m: 1983).
In 1976 he was awarded a Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia.
Ljubek later became vice-president of the Croatian Olympic Committee and served as chef de mission for the Croatian Olympic team.
Ljubek died in 2000 when he was shot by an estranged brother-in-law while trying to defend his mother in Valpovo, Osijek-Baranja six days after returning from the 2000 Summer Olympics.