Matej Baluch
 Baluch in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 14 October 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Events | Sprint, hurdles | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | 200m: 20.93 (2025) 400mH: 48.94 (2026) NR | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Matej Baluch (born 16 October 2000) is a Slovak athlete. He has won multiple national championship titles in the 400 metres hurdles and is the joint-national record holder. He is also the national indoor record holder over 200 metres.[1]
Biography
[edit]A member of Dukla Banská Bystrica,[2] Baluch won the bronze medal in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2019 European Athletics U20 Championships in Sweden.[3][4] In 2021, he competed in the 400 m hurdles at the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn, finishing seventh overall in 51.17 seconds.[3]
As part of the Slovakian 4 x 40 relay team, he helped set a new national indoor record of 3:09.79 at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade.[5] Baluch competed for Slovakia at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, his debut as an individual at a major championships. In 2022, he improved his personal best in the 400m hurdles) to 50.21 seconds, and achieved a performance under 51 seconds nine times in the season.[3]
Baluch was eliminated in the preliminary round at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, with a time of 52.17 seconds.[6] In 2025, he improved the Slovakian indoor record in the 200 meters to 20.93 seconds in Ostrava.[7] In March he represented Slovakia at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.[8] In July 2025, Baluch improved his personal record in the 400 m hurdles (49.39) at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin.[9]
At the 2026 Slovakian Indoor Championships he won the 200 metres title for the fourth year in a row, and his sixth title in total.[7] Baluch competed in the 400 metres hurdles for Slovakia at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where he ran a time of 48.94 seconds, equaling the national record of Jozef Kucej and Patrik Dömötör.[10]
Personal life
[edit]He studied at the Matej Bel University.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Matej Baluch". World Athletics. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ↑ "Matej Baluch ran under 50 seconds in the 400m hurdles for the third time this season, finishing third at the challenger meeting in Celle Ligure". atletika.sk. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Dukla's hurdler Matej Baluch wants to break the 50-second mark and participate in the World Championships in Budapest". Bystricoviny.sk. January 18, 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Talented athlete Matej Baluch won bronze in the 400 m hurdles". Sport24. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Even a national record was not enough for Slovak relay athletes to advance". Teraz.sk. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "European Athletics Championships". World Athletics. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- 1 2 "Bendová with a new record, Baluch with her sixth title". noviny.sk. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "The consequences of the illness were fully apparent for Volk. Baluch was not satisfied with his performance either, Dömötör was unlucky". sme.sk. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Bogdanyi, Gabriel (27 July 2025). "Matej Baluch improved his personal record in the 400 m hurdles to 49.39 seconds at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin, while Viktória Forster was eighth in the 100 m hurdles". Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Národný rekord hneď v rozbehu. Baluch predviedol skvelý beh a postúpil do semifinále". sme.sk. 11 August 2026. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
