Luka Špik

Luka Špik is a Slovenian rower, born on 9 February 1979 in Kranj, who became an Olympic gold medalist in the men's double sculls. Together with Iztok Čop he won the 1999 World Championship and then the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which the cited article describes as the first Olympic gold medal for independent Slovenia. The pair were favourites to repeat in 2004 but took silver, and at the 2012 Olympics in London they led until nearly the 1500 metre mark before finishing third. Špik also won the double sculls at the 2007 World Championships and, in 2005, took gold in the double sculls and silver in the quadruple sculls at the world championships.