Zvonko Bezjak (born Antun Petar Bezjak, 29 June 1935 – 21 July 2022)Preminuo Zvonko Bezjak – olimpijac, prvak Balkana i svjetski juniorski rekorder
varazdin-sport.hr, 22 July 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025 (in Croatian). was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n hammer thrower of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n origin.ŽIVLJENJEPISI SLOVENCEV V HRVAŠKEM ŠPORTU
slovenci-zagreb.hr (2014). p. 222 He competed for Yugoslavia at the 1960 Summer Olympics and finished in sixth place. 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 Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

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

References

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 {{Yugoslavia-athletics-bio-stub