Slovenia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation. Slovenian athletes won five medals, including three gold, won by canoeist Benjamin Savšek, road racing cyclist Primož Roglič, and sport climber Janja Garnbret. Three gold medals is an all-time record for Slovenia at the Summer Olympics, having previously won two gold in 2000. The Olympics saw the debut of the men's basketball team who finished fourth in the tournament.
Medalists
Medal Name Sport Event Date Benjamin Savšek Canoeing Men's slalom C-1 Primož Roglič Cycling Men's road time trial Janja Garnbret Sport climbing Women's combined Tina Trstenjak Judo Women's 63 kg Tadej Pogačar Cycling Men's road race
Summary In June 2021, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia officially confirmed 41 competitors who would represent the country at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. On 4 July 2021, the national men's basketball team won the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in Kaunas, secured a spot at the Olympic tournament, and bringing the total number of athletes to 53. Eva Terčelj, a canoeist, and Bojan Tokić, a table tennis player, were chosen as the flag bearers at the opening ceremony. This was the first time in Olympic history that there were two flag bearers, a man and a woman. Slovenia sent competitors in 14 sports. Apart from the men's basketball team, the sports with five or more competitors were athletics, cycling, canoeing, and judo. Miroslav Cerar, a gymnast who won gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, was chosen as the leader of the Slovenian Olympic Team.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Slovenian athletes won four medals, including one gold. Vasilij Žbogar, a sailor, has since retired from competing. Judokas Tina Trstenjak and Anamari Velenšek returned to the Olympic tournament, as did the canoeist Peter Kauzer. Other potential candidates included cyclists Tadej Pogačar, the incumbent Tour de France winner, and Primož Roglič, the sport climbing champion Janja Garnbret, canoeists Terčelj and Benjamin Savšek, and the discus thrower Kristjan Čeh. The basketball team, the reigning European champions led by the NBA star Luka Dončić, was seen as a team that could reach high.
The first medal event for Slovenia took place on 24 July, the men's road race in cycling. Following an early breakaway, Jan Tratnik led the chase for a long time. In the finish kilometres, Richard Carapaz and Brandon McNulty broke away from the peloton that has by then thinned out. Carapaz won the race while the chase group set themselves up for the sprint for the silver and bronze medals, resulting in an 8-way race for the finish in the final metres of the race. Pogačar won bronze, slightly behind Wout van Aert. Roglič finished 28th with over 6 minutes behind, having still not completely recovered from his fall at Tour de France.
Competitors The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games. SportMenWomenTotalArchery 1 0 1Athletics 2 5 7Basketball 12 0 12Canoeing 2 4 6Cycling 4 2 6Golf 0 1 1Gymnastics 0 1 1Judo 1 4 5Sailing 1 2 3Shooting 0 1 1Sport climbing 0 2 2Swimming 1 3 4Table tennis 4 0 4Taekwondo 1 0 1 Total 29 25 54
Archery
One Slovenian archer booked a place in the men's individual recurve by finishing in the top four at the Europe Continental Qualification Tournament in Antalya, Turkey.
AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / ScoreSeedOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankŽiga RavnikarMen's individual65141L 0–6Did not advance
Athletics
Slovenian athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
Track & road events AthleteEventHeat QuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankLuka JanežičMen's 400 m45.445 qcolspan=2 45.367 Did not advanceMaja MihalinecWomen's 100 mcolspan=2 11.545 Did not advanceWomen's 200 m23.624colspan=2 Did not advanceAnita HorvatWomen's 400 m52.346colspan=2 Did not advanceKlara LukanWomen's 5000 mcolspan=4 Did not advanceMaruša MišmašWomen's 3000 m steeplechase9:23.362 Qcolspan=4 9:14.846
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionKristjan ČehMen's discus throw65.453 q66.625Tina ŠutejWomen's pole vault4.55=1 q4.50=5
Basketball
Indoor Summary TeamEventGroup stageQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankSlovenia men'sMen's tournament W 118–100 W 116–81 W 95–87 1 Q W 94–70 L 89–90 L 93–107 4
Men's tournament
Slovenia men's basketball team qualified for the Olympics by securing its lone outright berth and winning the final match over the host Lithuania at the Kaunas leg of the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, marking the nation's debut in the sport since the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.
Team roster
Group play
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Bronze medal game
Canoeing
Slalom Slovenian canoeists qualified one boat for each of the following classes through the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain.
AthleteEventPreliminarySemifinalFinalRun 1RankRun 2RankBestRankTimeRankTimeRankBenjamin SavšekMen's C-198.821105.871298.822 Q104.265 Q98.25Peter KauzerMen's K-193.044105.642393.0411 Q99.1012 Did not advance Alja KozorogWomen's C-1124.08 15113.077113.078 Q129.7212 Did not advance Eva TerčeljWomen's K-1115.9315109.119109.1111 Q112.4824Did not advance
Sprint Slovenia qualified a single boat in the women's K-2 200 m for the Games by finishing fourth overall and second among those nations eligible for Olympic qualification at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.
AthleteEventHeatsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankAnja OstermanŠpela Ponomarenko JanićWomen's K-2 500 m1:48.5094 QF1:46.9291 SFDid not advance Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Cycling
Road Slovenia entered a squad of five riders (four men and one woman) to compete in their respective Olympic road races, by virtue of their top 50 national finish (for men) and top 22 (for women) in the UCI World Ranking.
AthleteEventTimeRankTadej PogačarMen's road race6:06.33Jan Polanc6:15:3843Primož RogličMen's road race6:11.4628Men's time trial55:04:19Jan TratnikMen's road race6:21:4667Eugenia BujakWomen's road race3:55:1319
Mountain biking Slovenia entered one mountain biker to compete in the women's cross-country race by finishing in the top two of the elite division vying for qualification at the 2019 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada.
AthleteEventTimeRankTanja ŽakeljWomen's cross-country1:24:38 21
Golf
Slovenia entered one golfer into the Olympic tournament. Pia Babnik (world no. 301) qualified directly among the top 60 eligible players for the women's event based on the IGF World Rankings.
AthleteEventRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4TotalScoreScoreScoreScoreScoreParRankPia BabnikWomen's71717367282−2=34
Gymnastics
Rhythmic Slovenia entered one rhythmic gymnast into the Olympic competition for the first time, by receiving a spare berth freed up by host nation Japan, as the next highest-ranked athlete, not yet qualified, in the individual all-around at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
AthleteEventQualificationFinalHoopBallClubsRibbonTotalRankHoopBallClubsRibbonTotalRankEkaterina VedeneevaIndividual22.80023.55022.55020.80089.70016Did not advance
Judo
Slovenia qualified five judoka (one man and four women) for each of the following weight classes at the Games. All of them, highlighted by Rio 2016 Olympians Adrian Gomboc (men's half-lightweight, 66 kg) and defending champion Tina Trstenjak (women's half-middleweight, 63 kg), were selected among the top 18 judoka of their respective weight classes based on the IJF World Ranking List of June 28, 2021.
AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechageFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankAdrian GombocMen's −66 kgW 10–00W 01–00L 00–10Did not advanceL 00–01Did not advance7Maruša ŠtangarWomen's −48 kgW 10–01L 00–10Did not advanceKaja KajzerWomen's −57 kgW 01–00W 10–00L 00–11W 10–00L 00–015Tina TrstenjakWomen's −63 kgW 01–00W 10–00W 10–01W 10–00L 00–01Anamari VelenšekWomen's +78 kgW 11–00L 00–10Did not advance
Sailing
Slovenian sailors qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the 2018 Sailing World Championships, the class-associated Worlds, and the continental regattas.
AthleteEventRaceNet pointsFinal rank12345678910M*Žan Luka ZelkoMen's Laser8232917312026519EL17826Veronika MacarolTina MrakWomen's 47086947392714695 M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race
Shooting
Slovenia granted an invitation from ISSF to send two-time Olympian Živa Dvoršak (women's 50 m rifle 3 positions) to the rescheduled Games as the highest-ranked shooter vying for qualification in the ISSF World Olympic Rankings of 6 June 2021.
AthleteEventQualificationFinalPointsRankPointsRankŽiva DvoršakWomen's 10 m air rifle627.211Did not advanceWomen's 50 m rifle 3 positions11737 Q406.27
Sport climbing
Slovenia entered two sport climbers into the Olympic tournament. Janja Garnbret qualified directly for the women's combined event, by winning the gold medal and securing one of the seven provisional berths at the 2019 IFSC World Championships in Hachioji, Japan. Meanwhile, Mia Krampl finished in the top six of those eligible for qualification at the IFSC World Qualifying Event in Toulouse, France, earning a quota place and joining with Gambret on the Slovenian roster.
AthleteEventQualificationFinalSpeedBoulderLeadTotalRankSpeedBoulderLeadTotalRankBest Place Result Place Hold Time PlaceBest Place Result Place Hold Time PlaceJanja GarnbretWomen's9.44 14 4T4z 4 4 1 30 — 4 56.00 4 Q7.81 5 2T3z 5 3 1 37+ — 1 5 Mia Krampl10.43 18 0T4z 0 5 14 26+ 3:16 7 1764.00 18 Did not advance
Swimming
Slovenian swimmers further achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):
AthleteEventHeat SemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankMartin BauMen's 400 m freestyle3:52.5624colspan=2 Did not advanceMen's 800 m freestyle8:04.7932colspan=2 Did not advanceKatja FainWomen's 800 m freestyle8:41.1326colspan=2 Did not advanceWomen's 1500 m freestyle16:35.9230colspan=2 Did not advanceWomen's 400 m individual medley4:44.6615colspan=2 Did not advanceŠpela PeršeWomen's 10 km open watercolspan=4 2:08:33.0 24Janja ŠegelWomen's 100 m freestyle54.7324Did not advanceWomen's 200 m freestyle1:58.3817Did not advance
Table tennis
Slovenia entered three athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games. For the first time in history, the men's team secured a berth by advancing to the quarterfinal round of the 2020 World Olympic Qualification Event in Gondomar, Portugal, permitting a maximum of two starters to compete in the men's singles tournament.
AthleteEventPreliminaryRound 1Round 2Round 3Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankDarko JorgićMen's singlescolspan=2 W 4–3W 4–2W 4–3L 0–4Did not advanceBojan TokićW 4–0W 4–0L 1–4Did not advanceDarko JorgićDeni KozulBojan TokićMen's teamcolspan=4 L 1–3Did not advance
Taekwondo