Michal Martikán facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Michal Martikán

Martikán in 2019
Personal information
Nationality	Slovak
Born	(1979-05-18) 18 May 1979 (age 46) Liptovský Mikuláš, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.70 m
Weight	72 kg
Sport
Country	Slovakia
Sport	Canoe slalom
Event(s)	C1
Club	KTK Dukla Liptovský Mikuláš
Medal record Men's canoe slalom Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 2 1 World Championships 15 3 5 European Championships 15 6 4 Junior World Championships 1 2 0 Junior European Championships 3 0 0 Representing  Slovakia Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta C1 Gold 2008 Beijing C1 Silver 2000 Sydney C1 Silver 2004 Athens C1 Bronze 2012 London C1 World Championships Gold 1997 Três Coroas C1 Gold 1997 Três Coroas C1 team Gold 2002 Bourg St.-Maurice C1 Gold 2003 Augsburg C1 Gold 2003 Augsburg C1 team Gold 2007 Foz do Iguaçu C1 Gold 2009 La Seu d'Urgell C1 team Gold 2010 Tacen C1 team Gold 2011 Bratislava C1 team Gold 2013 Prague C1 team Gold 2014 Deep Creek Lake C1 team Gold 2015 London C1 team Gold 2017 Pau C1 team Gold 2018 Rio de Janeiro C1 team Gold 2019 La Seu d'Urgell C1 team Silver 2006 Prague C1 Silver 2009 La Seu d'Urgell C1 Silver 2010 Tacen C1 Bronze 1995 Nottingham C1 Bronze 1995 Nottingham C1 team Bronze 1999 La Seu d'Urgell C1 Bronze 2005 Penrith C1 Bronze 2017 Pau C1 European Championships Gold 1998 Roudnice nad Labem C1 team Gold 2000 Mezzana C1 team Gold 2002 Bratislava C1 team Gold 2005 Tacen C1 team Gold 2007 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 Gold 2007 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 team Gold 2008 Kraków C1 Gold 2008 Kraków C1 team Gold 2009 Nottingham C1 Gold 2010 Bratislava C1 Gold 2010 Bratislava C1 team Gold 2012 Augsburg C1 team Gold 2015 Markkleeberg C1 team Gold 2016 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 team Gold 2021 Ivrea C1 team Silver 1998 Roudnice nad Labem C1 Silver 2006 L'Argentière-la-Bessée C1 Silver 2006 L'Argentière-la-Bessée C1 team Silver 2014 Vienna C1 Silver 2016 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 Silver 2018 Prague C1 team Bronze 2014 Vienna C1 team Bronze 2017 Tacen C1 Bronze 2024 Tacen C1 team Bronze 2025 Vaires-sur-Marne C1 team Junior World Championships Gold 1994 Wausau C1 Silver 1996 Lipno C1 Silver 1996 Lipno C1 team Junior European Championships Gold 1995 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 Gold 1995 Liptovský Mikuláš C1 team Gold 1997 Nowy Sącz C1

Michal Martikán (born May 18, 1979) is a famous Slovak slalom canoeist. He started competing internationally in 1994. In 1996, he made history. He became the very first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia. This was a huge moment for his country, which had become independent in 1993.

Michal Martikán has won an amazing five Olympic medals in total. These include two gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal. This makes him the most successful slalom paddler in Olympic history! He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times.

Michal Martikán's Amazing Career

At just 16 years old, Michal Martikán became the youngest person ever to win a World Cup slalom canoeing event. This showed everyone how talented he was from a young age.

Olympic Success

Three months after his World Cup win, at age 17, Martikán competed in the 1996 Olympics. He was in sixth place after his first run. With nothing to lose, he gave it his all in the second run. He managed to beat the score of the defending champion, Lukáš Pollert. This win made him Slovakia's first Olympic champion.

He was a favorite at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He had been performing very well in all major competitions. Martikán had the best score in the qualifying round. In the final, he was fifth after the first run. But he paddled a perfect second run, which was the fastest. He moved up to win the silver medal.

At his third Olympics in 2004, Martikán again led the qualifying round. He also had the best score in the semi-finals. After the second run, it looked like he had won gold again. However, he received a two-second penalty. This pushed him to second place, just a tiny bit behind Tony Estanguet.

Martikán won his second Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Then, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he earned a bronze medal. Michal Martikán is the only slalom canoeist to win five Olympic medals. He won one medal at each of the five Olympic Games from 1996 to 2012.

World Championship Achievements

At the World Championships, Martikán had an incredible streak. He won a medal in the individual C1 event every year from 1995 to 2010. In 2011, he finished outside the medals for the first time in an individual race at an Olympic or World Championship. This happened in front of his home crowd in Bratislava. However, he still won a gold medal in the team event with his Slovak teammates. This helped him continue his amazing medal streak.

He won six more gold medals in the C1 team event between 2013 and 2019. This means he won a medal at 17 straight World Championships! He won his first World Championship medals in 1995 when he was only 16. He took a bronze in the C1 event and another bronze in the C1 team event. In 1997, he won his first individual world title and a team gold. He won the individual C1 event three more times (in 2002, 2003, and 2007). As of 2019, he has a total of 23 World Championship medals. These include 15 golds, 3 silvers, and 5 bronzes. This is more than any other slalom paddler in any category.

World Cup and European Championships

Michal Martikán has also won the overall World Cup title five times. He won in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, and 2014. This is a record for C1 paddlers.

At the European Championships, he won four individual gold medals in a row from 2007 to 2010. Slovakia's C1 team, with him as a member, won the team event 11 times. He also has 6 silver medals (4 individual and 2 team) and 4 bronze medals (1 individual and 3 team).

Michal Martikán's father, Jozef, has been his coach throughout his career.

Awards and Recognition

Michal Martikán has received many awards for his outstanding career.

• Slovak Sportsperson of the Year: He won this prestigious award four times: in 1996, 1997, 2007, and 2008.
• Whitewater Hall of Fame: He was honored by being inducted into the Whitewater Hall of Fame in 2010.

See also

In Spanish: Michal Martikán para niños

• List of multiple Olympic medalists in one event
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists