Štukelj was born in Novo Mesto, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia). He is a noted figure in the annals of Slovene sporting history. Štukelj is one of the few Slovene athletes to have risen to the very top of his sport, where he remained right from the World Championships in Ljubljana in 1922 all the way to the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936, at which he rounded off his competitive gymnastics career.
Štukelj competed at seven major international competitions and captured a total of twenty medals: eight gold, six silver and six bronze. At the Olympic Games alone he won six medals: two gold medals (counted for Yugoslavia) in Paris in 1924, one gold medal and two bronze in Amsterdam in 1928, and a silver medal in Berlin in 1936 with which he concluded his career.
Štukelj arised at the open ceremony of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta in 1996 as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world where he shook hands with the President of the United States Bill Clinton.
His 100th birthday in 1998 was a major celebration in his home country. Interestingly, Štukelj still exercised regularly before his death.
See also: List of Slovenes.
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