Ladislav Škantár

Ladislav Škantár (2017)

Ladislav Škantár (born February 11, 1983 in Kežmarok ) is a former Slovak canoeist. He became Olympic champion in 2016 and world champion in canoe slalom in 2009 .

Athletic career

Ladislav Škantár started canoeing on Dunajec at the age of ten . He later moved to Bratislava and started for the AKP Bratislava. He trained a two-man canoe with his cousin Peter Škantár for twenty years . Both live in Bratislava, in winter they spent years preparing for the European season in Penrith , Australia.

The Škantárs were already successful in the youth field. They made their debut in the adult class at the European Championships in 2002 at home in Bratislava, where they took seventh place with the Slovak team in the two-man canoe rating. At the European Championships in Skopje in 2004, the two took third place in the individual ranking and second place in the team ranking. In 2005 they won bronze in the individual standings and gold with the team in Tacen, Slovenia. At the 2005 World Championships in Penrith, they finished sixth in the individual ranking. In 2007 they won the European championship title in the individual classification in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, and finished sixth with the team. Three months later at the 2007 World Championships in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, they finished ninth in the individual ranking. In the team competition they won the bronze medal together with Peter and Pavol Hochschorner as well as Tomáš Kučera and Jan Batik . In 2008 they took second place in the individual standings and third place in the team standings at the European Championships in Krakow. The Hochschorners competed for Slovakia at the 2008 Olympic Games and won gold for the third time in a row.

In 2009 in Nottingham, the Škantárs took fourth place at the European Championships, in the team standings they were sixth. At the World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, the Hochschorners won the individual ranking ahead of the Skantars. In the team competition, the two teams won together with Kučera and Batik. In 2010 the European Championships took place again in Bratislava in the Čunovo district. The Škantárs won the individual standings, the Slovak team came fifth in the team standings. At the 2010 World Championships in Tacen, the two missed the final and only came in 14th place, while the Slovaks came fourth in the team classification. At the 2011 European Championships in La Seu d'Urgell, the Škantárs were third in the individual standings and second with the team. The 2011 World Championships in Bratislava-Čunovo once again won the Hochschorners. Behind the second placed French Denis Chanut Gargaud and Fabien Lefèvre, the Škantárs won bronze, in the team standings the French won ahead of the Slovaks. The 2012 European Championships in Augsburg did not bring the Škantárs a medal; seventh place in the individual ranking was followed by sixth place in the team ranking. At the 2012 Olympics , the Hochschorners took third place behind two British boats.

Ladislav (front) and Peter Škantár (Rio de Janeiro 2016)

In 2013 at the European Championships in Krakow, Ladislav and Peter Škantár reached tenth place and fourth place with the team. At the 2013 World Championships in Prague, the Škantárs took third place as the best Slovak team, while the Czechs won the team ranking ahead of the Slovaks. In 2014 in Vienna, Ladislav and Peter Škantár received gold both individually and with the team at the European Championships. At the World Championships in Maryland they won bronze in the individual standings and silver with the team, which once again consisted of the Hochschorners, the Škantárs as well as Kučera and Batik. In 2015 the Slovak team won the European Championships in Markkleeberg, the Škantárs only came 15th in the individual standings. At the 2015 World Championships in London, they placed 16th, the team came in sixth. The 2016 European Championships took place in Slovakia again in Liptovský Mikuláš. The Škantárs came in sixth in the individual standings and the Slovaks won the team standings. After the Hochschorners had recently won medals at the Olympic Games four times, Ladislav and Peter Škantár competed for Slovakia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, beating the British and the French.

In 2017, the French Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Péché won the World Championships in Pau ahead of the Škantárs. In the team ranking, the Slovaks with the Hochschorners, the Škantárs as well as Kučera and Batik took third place. In 2018, the two-man Canoe was no longer on the program of the World Championships.

Web links

• Ladislav Škantár in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Portrait at canoeicf.com