Michal Martikán

Michal Martikán

Martikán in 2005 in Čunovo
Personal information
Nationality	Slovak
Born	(1979-05-18) 18 May 1979 (age 37) Liptovský Mikuláš, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Website	http://www.michalmartikan.sk
Sport
Country	Slovakia
Sport	Canoe slalom
Event(s)	C-1
Club	Dukla Liptovský Mikuláš
Medal record Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta C-1 2008 Beijing C-1 2000 Sydney C-1 2004 Athens C-1 2012 London C-1 World Championships 1997 Três Coroas C-1 1997 Três Coroas C-1 team 2002 Bourg St.-Maurice C-1 2003 Augsburg C-1 2003 Augsburg C-1 team 2007 Foz do Iguaçu C-1 2009 La Seu d'Urgell C-1 team 2010 Tacen C-1 team 2011 Bratislava C-1 team 2013 Prague C-1 team 2014 Deep Creek Lake C-1 team 2015 London C-1 team 2006 Prague C-1 2009 La Seu d'Urgell C-1 2010 Tacen C-1 1995 Nottingham C-1 1995 Nottingham C-1 team 1999 La Seu d'Urgell C-1 2005 Penrith C-1 European Championships 1998 Roudnice nad Labem C-1 team 2000 Mezzana C-1 team 2002 Bratislava C-1 team 2005 Tacen C-1 team 2007 Liptovský Mikuláš C-1 2007 Liptovský Mikuláš C-1 team 2008 Kraków C-1 2008 Kraków C-1 team 2009 Nottingham C-1 2010 Bratislava C-1 2010 Bratislava C-1 team 2012 Augsburg C-1 team 2015 Markkleeberg C-1 team 2016 Liptovský Mikuláš C-1 team 1998 Roudnice nad Labem C-1 2006 L'Argentière-la-Bessée C-1 2006 L'Argentière-la-Bessée C-1 team 2014 Vienna C-1 2016 Liptovský Mikuláš C-1 2014 Vienna C-1 team

Michal Martikán (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmixal ˈmartikaːn]; born 18 May 1979) is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing since the mid-1990s. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic Games gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals (2 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze), which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C-1 individual category four times. He is considered by many the greatest C-1 slalom paddler alive.

At the age of 16, Michal Martikán became the youngest winner of a World Cup slalom canoeing event. Three months later, at age 17, Martikán was in sixth place after the first run of the canoe slalom singles event at the 1996 Olympics. With nothing to lose, he went all out on the second run and just bettered the score of defending champion Lukáš Pollert of the Czech Republic. Martikán was the first Olympic champion to represent independent Slovakia. He entered the 2000 Olympics as the favourite, having consistently finished near the top in every major competition and in each World Cup series. At the Sydney Games, Martikán registered the best score in the qualifying round, but was only in fifth place after the first run of the final. In the second run, he paddled a perfect course and his time was the fastest of the round. He was able to move up to the silver medal position behind Tony Estanguet of France. Competing in his third Olympics in 2004, Martikán again led the qualifying round. He also earned the highest score in the semifinals, which also served as the first run of the final. After the second run, it appeared that Martikán had regained the Olympic title, but the referees controversially decided to award him a two-second penalty which pushed him to second place, only 12 hundredths of a second behind Estanguet. Martikán regained the Olympic title at the 2008 games in Beijing. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London Martikán took bronze. Michal Martikán is the only slalom canoeist to win five Olympic medals, one in each of the five games from 1996 through 2012.