Miroslav "Miro" Šipek (born 6 April 1948) is an Australian rifle shooting coach. During his long and successful shooting career he was a champion of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

27 times in a range of disciplines (19 times as a senior and 8 as a junior National Team member). He won several medals at various international competitions and Balkans Championships, 4 silver medals at

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

and a bronze at the 1970

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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Phoenix Arizona
Miro represented

at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

in rifle shooting. In 1992, he led the first

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

National Team from his war torn country to the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. Miro was the coach for Australia's shooters at

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics. He was the coach for Australia's Paralympic shooters at the

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Personal

Born on 6 April 1948 in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

(

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

) where he attended Primary School, High School and University for Physical Education. BiH Shooting Team Bucharest 1973

In 1973 he married Mirsada Čengić, club teammate and member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian shooting team. Together they've had two children (Goran and Mirela) and four grandchildren (Denis, Dino, Aron and Liam). Miro_Sipek_-_1969

He started playing sport at a young age and was a talented footballer and table tennis player. His shooting career started in 1965 when he joined ‘Mico Sokolovic’ Shooting Club in his home town of

. Very next year, he became member of the most successful Yugoslav club 'Mile Vujocic Uco - Sarajevo'. He represented

as part of the Junior National Team 15 times, his first appearance being in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

in 1965. During his long and successful shooting career he was a champion of

27 times in a range disciplines (19 times as a senior and 8 as a junior National Team member). He won number of medals at various international competitions and Balkans Championships, 4 silver medals at

and a bronze at the

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Phoenix Arizona
He represented

at the

In 1969, he was honoured as the Athlete of the Year of

. He was a recipient of various regional and national honours and awards in ex-Yugoslavia, including the 'Silver Rays' ''("Orden Zasluga Za Narod sa Srebrnim Zracima")'' which is the highest civilian decoration awarded by the late Yugoslav president

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

. In 1985, after more than 250 appearances for Yugoslav Team in competitions and championships all over the world, he retired from competing and continued his shooting career as a Coach and National Selector. In 1986, Miro led Yugoslav Shooting Team to

Title (

prone Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast. Etymolog ...

women) in

Suhl Suhl () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located SW of Erfurt, NE of Würzburg and N of Nuremberg. With its 37,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest of the six urban districts within Thuringia. Together with its northern neighbour-town Zella- ...

, Germany. He worked as a High Performance Manager at the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Institute of Sport. In 1992 he led the first

Bosnian-Herzegovinian Bosnians (Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...

National Team from his war torn country to the

His career continues in Australia where he moved with his family in 1995. He worked with the National Olympic Shooting Team of Australia from 1997 and took the team to the Olympics in

, 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

Manchester 2002 The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

and

Melbourne 2006 The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 ( Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth he ...

. In 2009 he started working with the

Australian Paralympic Shooting Team Shooting has been included in the Summer Paralympic Games from the 1976 Games. Australia has been represented at each Games since 1976. Notable Australian athletes: * Elizabeth Kosmala, a wheelchair athlete, has won 12 shooting medals (9 gold and ...

, whom he has been coaching until his retirement in January 2019. Miro Sipek - Accreditations

Shooting

Sporting achievements

* April 1966 broke the Yugoslav national record, 3-positions 3x20 (562) * April 1966 chosen for the junior National Team of

* September 1966 debuted with the senior National Team of

* October 1966 First senior gold medal at the Balkan Championship 3x20 (571) (total of 16 gold medals at Balkan Championships throughout career) * 1968 Silver medal at the Junior

in Wiesbaden (Germany) * 1969 Silver medal in team 3-positions discipline 3x20 at the

in Plzen (Czechoslovakia) * 1969 named as the athlete of the year of

* 1970 recipient of the Plaque of the City of

* 1970 Team bronze medal at the

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Phoenix Arizona
(60

Prone Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast. Etymolog ...

) * 1975 placed 5th, 3-positions, at the

in Thun (Switzerland) * 1975 awarded 'Silver Rays' Decoration by the late Yugoslav president

* 1975 Silver medal at the

in Bucharest (Romania) * 1976 competed at the

where he represented

in the Three Position,

50 meter events * 1966-1985 Several Sport Honours –

* 1981 Youth Day (May 25) Award * Awarded the title of the Meritorious Athlete of

* 1989 ISSF (UIT) Gold Medal Honour * 1988-1992 President of National Shooting Association B&H * 1992-1996 Member of Executive Committee �
Olympic Committee B&H
* 1992 Led the first B&H National Team to the

* 1995 first non German to win Gau-Schützenkönig (Shooting King) in

Ruhpolding Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border. Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. I ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Coaching

Miro Sipek is a rifle shooting coach. He led Yugoslav Shooting Team to

Title (

women) in 1986,

(Germany). From 1997 Miro has been coaching Australian Shooting Team(s). Shooters he has coached include Warren Potent, Ashley Adams,

Libby Kosmala Elizabeth "Libby" Dudley Kosmala (née Richards), OAM (born 8 July 1942) is an Australian shooter with paraplegia. She represented Australia at twelve Paralympics from 1972 to 2016, and won thirteen medals, nine of them gold. Personal Kosmal ...

, Jason Maroney, Tim Lowndes,

Sue McCready Susan Valerie McCready (born 4 April 1981 in Sunbury, Victoria) is an Australian sport shooter. Since 1997, McCready had won a total of eleven medals (five golds, four silver, and two bronze) in both air and small-bore rifle at the Oceania Sh ...

Belinda Imgrund (Muhlberg)
ref name=sam> an

Wieland, Nat Smith,

Luke Cain Luke Cain (born 3 February 1980) is an SH2-classified Australian shooter who became a paraplegic after an accident while playing Australian rules football. He started competing in 2007, as the sport suited his disability, and has been a Victo ...

Anton Zappelli Anton Zappelli (born 28 September 1971) is an Australian Paralympic shooter. He represented Australia in the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and has been selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Personal Zappelli was born o ...

Bradley Mark Bradley Mark (born 26 February 1957) is a New Zealand born Australian shooter who has represented Australia in two Paralympic Games. Personal Mark was born on 26 February 1957 in New Zealand. He is from Wynnum, Queensland. He has incomplete qua ...

... He started coaching

Ben Burge Benjamin Burge (born 11 June 1980 in Albury, New South Wales) is an Australian sport shooter. Since 2001, Burge had won a total of seven medals (five silver and two bronze) in both air and small-bore rifle at the Oceania Shooting Championships. ...

in 2003. Miro was the coach for Australia's shooters at the Summer Olympic Games in: *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

. He coached Australia's Paralympic shooters at the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

in: *

and Paralympics. *

. Miro was also shooting coach for

in: *

Retirement

After a 54-year career in shooting, first as an athlete and then as a coach, Miro finally retired for the sport in January 2019. Shooting Australia Plaque

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipek, Miro Living people 1948 births Shooters at the 1976 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Sarajevo People from Melbourne Olympic coaches for Australia Coaches at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Coaches at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Olympic shooters for Yugoslavia Yugoslav male sport shooters Bosnia and Herzegovina male sport shooters Paralympic coaches for Australia Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Australia