Zvonko Bezjak
 Račić and Bezjak (right) | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 29 June 1935 Varaždin, Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |||||||||||
| Died | 21 July 2022 (aged 87) Varaždin, Croatia | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | Hammer throw | |||||||||||
| Club | Dinamo Zagreb | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best | 65.38 m (1960)[1] | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Zvonko Bezjak (born Antun Petar Bezjak, 29 June 1935 – 21 July 2022)[2] was a Croatian hammer thrower of Slovenian origin.[3] He competed for Yugoslavia at the 1960 Summer Olympics and finished in sixth place.[4] 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.[3]
He had a sister Vida, whose son Zlatko Bezjak became a competitive javelin thrower.[3]
References
[edit]
- ^ Zvonko Bezjak. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ Preminuo Zvonko Bezjak – olimpijac, prvak Balkana i svjetski juniorski rekorder. varazdin-sport.hr, 22 July 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025 (in Croatian).
- ^ a b c ŽIVLJENJEPISI SLOVENCEV V HRVAŠKEM ŠPORTU. slovenci-zagreb.hr (2014). p. 222
- ^ "Antun Bezjak". sports-reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
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- 1935 births
- 2022 deaths
- Sportspeople from Varaždin
- Croatian male hammer throwers
- Yugoslav male hammer throwers
- Olympic male hammer throwers
- Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Croatian people of Slovenian descent
- Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia
- Mediterranean Games gold medalists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Mediterranean Games
- Balkan Athletics Championships winners
- Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners
- Croatian athletics biography stubs
- Yugoslav athletics biography stubs