Bio

Špik was born in Kranj. Impressed by the successful appearance of Slovenian rowers in Barcelona Olympics, he decided to make a step towards his destiny. With thirteen years he has chosen the boat to be his partner for the future. His fast made progress gave him confidence and motivation on his way towards fantastic epilogs.

It was in his early years as a single scull rower, that Špik has been already achieving nice results and had soon attracted attention of a national rowing society. After his first attempts to partner up with Iztok Čop had passed successfully, he still stayed focused on a single scull. It was part of his coach Janša’ s strategy, to develop and improve Špik’s technique trough preparing him in a single scull boat while trying to find a perfect partner for a formation of a dubble.

He attended his first Olympic games as a seventeen years old youngster, after he had been rowing for only three years. With Erik Tul in stroke, Špik has achieved 14th place in Atlanta. But early in next season Špik was ready for a real sport and professional results, he grew his experiences and began his career as a fantastic rower. He became junior golden world medalist in a single scull in a race that took place in Hazewinkel, Belgium, and in the same year achieved his first success partnered up in a dubble skull with Čop, at international regatta in Piedeluco, Italy.

Their joint career spread it’s wings at the and of the outgoing millennium. Špik and Čop have become perfect combination that is hard to find. They set a world record while winning the race in St. Catherine, Canada in 1999 that stayed unbreakable for the next seven years. With the new millennium their plans have even raised the heat. They won the gold Olympic medal in Sydney and have continued new era in elegant style as a couple, that has pushed their competitors way back the line and have been keeping the safe distance for as long as four years.

Despite their reciprocal perfection and great success they have been achieving for years, Luka and Iztok have decided to temporarily part their careers. In the next couple of years that followed, Špik has been trying different combinations and boats, but for the next big trial he found himself with Čop again, for winning a silver Olympic medal in Athens.

In the following Olympic cycle before the trial in Peking, Špik and Čop have been consistently shaping supreme rowing history with either golden or silver distinction in a dubble scull and have stayed focused on the exact plans that they have made. Their great results have become permanent part of the worldwide rowing reports and at the same time a habit of a domestic public, which has sometimes been treating their success as a self-understood.

Because Špik has always represented rowing in a light of success, while trying to conceal the pain and failure in his everlasting smile and optimism, the latter have become his trade mark and a key to success in sport and his life.

meritts

Olympic Games

Beijing 2008 / CHI // 6th (2x; Čop)
Athens 2004 / GRE // 2nd (2x; Čop)
Sydney 2000 / AUS // 1st (2x; Čop)
Atlanta 1996 / USA // 14th (2x; Tul)

World Championships

2007 Munich /GER // 1st (2x; Čop)
2006 Eton / GB // 2nd (2x; Čop)
2005 Gifu / JAP // 1st (2x; Čop)
// 2nd (4x; Mizerit, Prelog, Čop)
2003 Milan /ITA // 4th (2x; Prelog)
2002 Seville / ESP // 8th (4x; Novak, Sračnjek, Božič)
2001 Luzern / CH // 5th (2x; Mizerit)
1999 St. Catharines / CAN // 1st (2x; Čop)

Junior World Championship

1998 Ioannina / GRE) //1st (1x)
1997 Hazewinkel / BEL // 1st (1x)
1995 Poznan / POL // 2nd (1x)
1994 Munich / GER // 6th (1x)

See complete list from www.worldrowing.com

Id

height   196
weight   96
date of birth   09 02 79
home      Bled, Slovenia
club   Rowing club Bled

contact

luka@luka-spik.com
www.luka-spik.com

Rowing federation of Sovenia
www.veslaska-zveza.si
Župančičeva c. 9
4260 Bled