Žarko Dolinar

Who was Žarko Dolinar?

Žarko Dolinar, Ph.D., a native of Koprivnica, Yugoslavia was a biologist by vocation and university academic who earned eight medals in the World Table Tennis Championships.

He was born in a family of Slovene economic immigrants to Croatia. In 1939, at the age of 18 he became the national champion of Yugoslavia. Dolinar was champion of the Independent State of Croatia multiple times, and also competed for its national team on nine occasions.

Dolinar is the only world sporting champion with a doctoral degree in biology. He graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1949, and received a doctorate in 1959. He was world doubles champion with his partner, Vilim Harangozo. Dolinar was also head of the Sports Science Committee for the International Table Tennis Federation.

A university professor in both Zagreb and Basel, he was honored as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for saving, together with his brother Boris, about 300 Jews during World War II.

He died at the age of 82 in Basel, Switzerland.