LEON ŠTUKELJ


Leon Štukelj was born on 12th of November 1898 in Novo Mesto in Austria-Hungary. He demonstrated his extraordinary gymnastic and athletic talents as early as 1924 when he won his first and second gold medal in the Paris Olympics.

Four years later, he took part in the Amsterdam Olympics and won his third gold medal on the horizontal bar, and two bronze medals in the all-round and team competitions. His sixth medal was won in the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he returned with a silver in the rings.

Štukelj took part in many world championships winning a total of 20 medals, eight of them gold, and he received many honours. At the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he was presented as the oldest living gold medalist. In 1997, he was inducted in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame as the oldest living Olympic gold medalist. At the time, he was 98 years old. In 2011, he was, together with Miro Cerar, inducted into Hram slavnih slovenskih športnikov - the Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame.

GRAMMAR LOG

Cardinal and ordinal numbers

You already know cardinal and ordinal numbers from one to one hundred. Here is a list of cardinal and ordinal numbers from one hundred to one million. You will find some rules below.

Hundred is always followed by and.
Example:

two hundred and thirty-three

Thousand is followed by and where there are no hundreds in the number.
Example:

six thousand and forty-six.

0 can be read as

    o = telephone and room numbers (room two o three)
    zero = temperatures (two degrees above zero), countdowns (10,9,8,7. . . zero)
    nil = sports results (1 - 0 = one - nil)
    love = in tennis results (15 - 0 = fifteen - love)

When we refer to the names of kings and queens, we write ordinal numbers using Roman numbers. We pronounce them using the definite article before the ordinal number.
Examples:

Queen Elizabeth II (pronounced: Queen Elizabeth the Second)
King Henry VIII (pronounced: King Henry the Eighth)  

2/3 (two thirds)
4/6 (four sixths)
1/2 (one half)
2/2 (two halves)

In numbers that contain a decimal point, each digit is read individually after the point.
Examples:

42.367 (forty-two point three six seven)
1.551 (one point five five one)   

A comma is used with figures that have four or more digits. Place the first comma counting three spaces to the left. Then continue placing commas after every three digits.
Examples:

1,054
2,417,592

When reading sums of money, we add the name of the currency. The decimals are pronounced as the whole number.
Examples:

78€ (sevety-eight euros)
₤59 (fifty-nine pounds)
€10.25 (ten euros and twenty-five cents or
ten euros and twenty-five or
ten twenty-five)

In reading percentages we add the word ‘percent.’
Examples:

36% (thirty-four percent)
7% (seven percent)

When reading measurements, we pronounce the unit of the measurement after the number.
Examples:

5cm (five centimetres)
5ft (five feet)
600km (six hundred kilometres)
3m² (three square metres)
90km/h (ninety kilometres per hour)
20l (twenty litres)
1tsp (one teaspoon)
10⁰C (ten degrees Celsius)
-3⁰C (three degrees below zero)

WORDS TO REMEMBER

excel = (v.) do better than other people
horizontal bar = (n.) single metal bar fixed in horizontal position about 2.5m above the floor used in gymnastics
all-round = (n.) including all of the different gymnastics apparatus
competition = (n.) activity in which people try to win something
rings = (n.) metal rings suspended from a ceiling used in gymnastics
honour = (n.) great respect and admiration
hall = (n.) large public room used for events
fame = (n.) state of being well-known
induct = (v.) place in an official position with ceremony