Luděk Beneš (7 September 1937 – 9 August 2016) was a Czech slalom canoeist who competed for Czechoslovakia from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, specializing in the C1 discipline. He won six medals at the

ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships The ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships are an international event in canoeing organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every year in non- Summer Olympic years since 2002. From 1949 to 1999, they ...

with three golds (C1 team:

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

), two silvers (C1: 1955, 1965) and a bronze (C1 team:

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

Biography

Beneš was born on 7 September 1937. He was born in a hospital in

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

, but was native of the nearby town of Blovice. In addition to his international successes, he is also a 12-time champion of Czechoslovakia. From 1967 to 1972, he was the coach of the Czechoslovak Olympic team. He then worked as a pharmacist in a pharmacy in Blovice that belonged to his family. He died on 9 August 2016 at the age of 78.

References

* 1937 births 2016 deaths Czechoslovak male canoeists Czech male canoeists Medalists at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships People from Blovice {{CzechRepublic-canoe-bio-stub