Zvonko Bezjak

Last updated

Zvonko Bezjak
Kresimir Racic and Zvonko Bezjak.jpg
Račić and Bezjak (right)
Personal information
Born29 June 1935 (1935-06-29) (age 88)
Varaždin, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHammer throw
ClubDinamo Zagreb
Achievements and titles
Personal best65.38 m (1960) [1]
Medal record
Representing Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1963 Naples Hammer throw

Zvonko Bezjak (born Antun Petar Bezjak on 29 June 1935) is a retired Croatian hammer thrower of Slovenian origin. [2] He competed for Yugoslavia at the 1960 Summer Olympics and finished in sixth place. [3] He won a gold medal at the 1963 Mediterranean Games.

As a teenager Bezjak tried fencing and wrestling before changing to athletics. In 1953 he won the Yugoslav junior pentathlon championships, where he performed well not only in throwing, but also in sprint events, running 100 m in 11.3 and 200 m in 23.2 seconds. Next year he moved from his native Varaždin to Zagreb, and received a degree in economics there in 1960. During his hammer throwing career Bezjak had a strong rivalry with Krešimir Račić, with Bezjak winning the Yugoslav title in 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1963 and Račić in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1964. Bezjak retired in 1965. He did not pursue a coaching career, and instead worked for the catering company Ključice in Novi Marof until 1991. [2]

He had a sister Vida, whose son Zlatko Bezjak became a competitive javelin thrower. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stjepan Radić</span> Croatian politician (1871–1928)

Stjepan Radić was a Croat politician and founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Antun "Tova" Stipančić was a highly accomplished Croatian / Yugoslav professional table tennis player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antun Augustinčić</span> Croatian sculptor, political commissar and university teacher

Antun Augustinčić was a Croatian sculptor active in Yugoslavia and the United States. Along with Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršinić, he is considered one of the three most important Croatian sculptors of the 20th century. His most notable sculptures include the Peace monument which stands in front of the United Nations building in New York City, the Miner statue in front of the International Labour Organization headquarters in Geneva, and the sculpture of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito, present in several copies throughout former Yugoslavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vlatko Marković</span> Croatian footballer and manager

Vladimir "Vlatko" Marković was a Croatian professional football manager and player who served as the president of the Croatian Football Federation from 1998 to 2012.

Zvonko Vranesic is a Croatian–Canadian International Master of chess, and an International Master of Correspondence Chess. He is an electrical engineer, a university professor, and a developer of computer chess software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yugoslavia at the 1948 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Athletes from the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. Ninety competitors—79 men and 11 women—took part in 35 events in 8 sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romuald Klim</span>

Romuald Iosifovich Klim was a Soviet hammer thrower. He competed at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal, respectively. Klim was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor in 1965.

Milan Antolković was a Croatian footballer who played international football for both the Croatian and Royal Yugoslav national teams.

Rudolf Belin is a Croatian retired football manager and player.

Zvonko Bego was a Yugoslav footballer. He spent most of his career with Croatian side Hajduk Split.

Antun "Toni" Pogačnik was a Croatian footballer who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. He is notable for being a manager of Indonesia between 1954 and 1963 and is considered one of the best in the history of the Indonesia national team.

Antun Lokošek was a Croatian footballer who played for several clubs in Yugoslavia.

Zvonko Jazbec was a Croatian football goalkeeper. He spent his career at HŠK Concordia Zagreb during the 1930s in the Yugoslav First League.

Bravo maestro is a 1978 Yugoslavian drama film directed by Rajko Grlić. It was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.

Zvonko "Tiba" Strnad (1926–1979) was a Croatian footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw</span> Olympic athletics event

The men's hammer throw at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place on September 2 (qualifying) and September 3 (final) at the Stadio Olimpico. The qualifying standards for the 1960 event were 60 m. There were 28 competitors from 18 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Vasily Rudenkov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the event. Gyula Zsivótzky took silver, Hungary's fourth medal in the last four Games in the men's hammer throw. Tadeusz Rut's bronze was Poland's first medal in the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krešimir Račić</span> Croatian hammer thrower

Krešimir "Krešo" Račić was a Croatian hammer thrower. He competed for Yugoslavia in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics and placed sixth in 1956. He won a gold medal in the 1959 Mediterranean Games and a bronze in the 1959 Summer Universiade. During his career Račić had a strong domestic rivalry with Zvonko Bezjak, with Račić winning the Yugoslav title in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1964 and Bezjak in 1956, 1958, 1960 and 1963.

Antun is a Croatian masculine given name used in Croatia. It is a common given name, cognate to the name Anthony. Other such Croatian names include Ante, Anton and Toni.

Zvonimir "Zvonko" Lepetić was one of the leading character actors of Croatian and Yugoslav cinema and television.

References

  1. Zvonko Bezjak. trackfield.brinkster.net
  2. 1 2 3 ŽIVLJENJEPISI SLOVENCEV V HRVAŠKEM ŠPORTU. slovenci-zagreb.hr (2014). p. 222
  3. "Antun Bezjak". sports-reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2012.