Slaven Bio

/Beijing 2008 Athletics

I was born in Sarajevo and most of my childhood grew up in the Olympic village, where my family got the apartment after the winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo in 1984.

At the age of ten, I moved to Slovakia where I started training track and field and enjoyed art classes at elementary school. My painting skills were first recognized in the finals of the national painting competition called Universe Through Children's Eyes. Due to the lack of art classes at high school, I focused more on track and field and became junior national champion in the high jump. I continued training and competing also during my studies at the Economic University in Bratislava which I graduated from in 2005.

After graduation, I fully dedicated my time to my athlete`s career and in 2008 became the first Slovak decathlete to participate in the Olympic Games, in Beijing. I hold a national record in the heptathlon and have several national titles in the decathlon, high jump, and hurdle sprints.

In 2014, I moved to Switzerland where I completed postgraduate studies in sports management. During this time I rediscovered my passion for art and transitioned into the field of art as a painter and photographer. My first exhibition was held in Lausanne in 2019 and in 2020 I introduced my project "Painted by" during the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne.