Martin Doktor (; born 21 May 1974 in Polička,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

) is the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

's best-known sprint canoeist. He was double Olympic champion in the Canadian canoe C-1 discipline at the 1996 Summer Olympics in

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. During the 1996 games, his mother cooked ''knedliky'' ( Dumplings in Czech), using dozens of kg of

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brought over from the Czech Republic. Doktor went on to win 14 medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, including two golds (C-1 200 m: 1998, C-1 500 m: 1997), nine silvers (C-1 200 m: 1997,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, 2003; C-1 500 m: 1995, 1999; C-1 1000 m: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001), and three bronzes (C-1 500 m: 2003, C-1 1000 m: 1999, C-4 1000 m: 1998). He was also European C-1 1000 m champion in 1997 and 2000. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Doktor was unfortunate not to add to his medal tally, coming in fourth in the C-1 1000 m final and fifth in the C-1 500 m. His most recent medal success came at the 2006 European Championships, held in Račice, Czech Republic, where he won the C-1 200 m silver medal. Doktor, nicknamed ''Boban'', remains one of canoeing's most consistent performers. At the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships he entered all three C-1 events, reaching the final in each. He finished fourth in the 200 m, fifth in the 500 m, and eighth in the 1000 m. He is tall and weighs .

Decorations

Awarded by Czech Republic * Medal of Merit (2024)

References

* * * *Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Singles 500 Meters". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 479, 481. {{DEFAULTSORT:Doktor, Martin 1974 births Living people People from Polička Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Czech male canoeists Olympic canoeists for the Czech Republic Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the Pardubice Region Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) 21st-century Czech sportsmen