| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 176.65 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 1996 | Atlanta, GA, USA | 151.03 |
| 2 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 189.28 |
| 2 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2000 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | 233.76 |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | C1 Team | 2011 | Bratislava, SVK | 109.97 |
| 1 | C1 Team | 2010 | Tacen, SLO | 105.34 |
| 1 | C1 Team | 2009 | La Seu d'Urgell, ESP | 100.84 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2003 | Augsburg, GER | 208.14 |
| 1 | C1 Team | 2003 | Augsburg, GER | 212.24 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2002 | Bourg-Saint-Maurice, FRA | 192.92 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 1997 | Tres Coroas, BRA | 267.61 |
| 1 | C1 Team | 1997 | Tres Coroas, BRA | 151.63 |
| 2 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2010 | Tacen, SLO | 98.61 |
| 2 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2009 | La Seu d'Urgell, ESP | 98.76 |
| 2 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2006 | Prague, CZE | 209.00 |
| 3 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2005 | Penrith, NSW, AUS | 210.64 |
| 3 | Canoe Single (C1) | 1999 | La Seu d'Urgell, ESP | 207.00 |
| 3 | Canoe Single (C1) | 1995 | Nottingham, GBR | 135.97 |
| 3 | C1 Team | 1995 | Nottingham, GBR | 172.23 |
| 7 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2011 | Bratislava, SVK | 106.54 |
| Final | Canoe Single (C1) | 2007 | Foz do Iguacu, BRA | 192.87 |
| European Championships | ||||
| 1 | C1 Team | 2012 | Augsburg, GER | 110.47 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2010 | Cunovo, SVK | 90.06 |
| 1 | C1 Team | 2010 | Cunovo, SVK | 112.73 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2009 | Nottingham, GBR | 95.66 |
| 4 | C1 Team | 2011 | La Seu d'Urgell, ESP | 114.60 |
| 8 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2012 | Augsburg, GER | 101.91 |
| 8 | C1 Team | 2009 | Nottingham, GBR | |
| Oceania Open Championships | ||||
| 3 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2012 | Penrith, NSW, AUS | 95.68 |
| World Cup | ||||
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2011 | Markkleeberg, GER | 101.46 |
| 1 | Canoe Single (C1) | 2009 | Bratislava, SVK | 93.99 |
Hobbies
Windsurfing, ice hockey, tennis, horse riding and alpine skiing and listening to music. (Athens World Cup, 2004; NOC Media Guide, 2004)
Language(s) spoken
English
Club name
KTK Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia
Coach
Jozef Martikan [father] (SVK) (vajdagroup.com, 02 Sep 2011)
Handedness
Left (martikan.sk, 30 Apr 2003)
Other sports
His father and coach, Jozef Martikan, also competed in slalom canoeing. (Athlete, 01 Sep 1999)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started paddling at age nine. (Athlete, 01 Sep 1999)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. (martikan.sk, 01 Sep 2005)
Hero
Richard Fox. (Athlete, 01 Sep 1999)
Most influential person in career
His father. (Athlete, 04 Sep 1999)
Awards
In 2008 he was named as the Slovakian athlete of the year. (czechfolks.com, 24 Jan 2009)
He was named both the Slovak Union white water athlete of the year and the best Slovakian athlete of the year in 2007. (osobnosti.sk, 31 Dec 2007)
In 2004 he became the first slalom canoeist to win three Olympic medals. (IOC, 13 Sep 2005)
He was named Slovakian Sportsman of the Year in 1996 and 1997. (Athlete, 01 Sep 1999)
In 1995, at the age of 16, he became the youngest ever canoe slalom World Cup winner. Then in 1996, aged 17, he became the first Olympic champion from the independent nation of Slovakia. (IOC, 13 Sep 2005)
General
FAMED FRENCH RIVAL
He enjoys a famed rivalry with French paddler Tony Estanguet, so much so that their rivalry was the subject of a 2001 television documentary in France called 'Les grands duels du sport' [The Great Duels of Sport]. The French Olympic Committee even refers to Martikan as Estanguet's 'eternal rival'. Estanguet said of his rival in 2010: "It's easy to guess who finished second behind me in each of my great victories, Olympic or world championship: the champion Michal Martikan. It's been 15 years that we've battled against one another, since the juniors! He surpassed me in Beijing and is for the moment a little higher with two Olympic and four world titles...it's a beautiful rivalry." (franceolympique.com, 01 Jan 2011; imdb.com, 01 Sep 2005)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000, Atlanta 1996
