Miroslav "Miro" Šipek (born 6 April 1948) is an Australian rifle shooting coach. During his long and successful shooting career he was a champion of Yugoslavia 27 times in a range of disciplines (19 times as a senior and 8 as a junior National Team member). He won several medals at various international competitions and Balkans Championships, 4 silver medals at European Championships and a bronze at the 1970 World Championships in Phoenix Arizona.
BiH Shooting team in Bucharest 1973. (Miroslav Sipek - bottom left; Mirsada Cengic (now Sipek) - top right)
In 1973 he married Mirsada Čengić, club teammate and member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian shooting team. Together they've had two children (Goran and Mirela) and four grandchildren (Denis, Dino, Aron and Liam).
Miroslav Sipek - shooting 50m prone 1969
He started playing sport at a young age and was a talented footballer and table tennis player. His shooting career started in 1965 when he joined ‘Mico Sokolovic’ Shooting Club in his home town of Sarajevo. Very next year, he became member of the most successful Yugoslav club 'Mile Vujocic Uco - Sarajevo'. He represented Yugoslavia as part of the Junior National Team 15 times, his first appearance being in Bucharest in 1965.
During his long and successful shooting career he was a champion of Yugoslavia 27 times in a range disciplines (19 times as a senior and 8 as a junior National Team member). He won number of medals at various international competitions and Balkans Championships, 4 silver medals at European Championships and a bronze at the World Championships in Phoenix Arizona. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Yugoslav Shooting Team - Montreal 1976
In 1969, he was honoured as the Athlete of the Year of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was a recipient of various regional and national honours and awards in ex-Yugoslavia, including the 'Silver Rays'("Orden Zasluga Za Narod sa Srebrnim Zracima") which is the highest civilian decoration awarded by the late Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito.
In 1985, after more than 250 appearances for Yugoslav Team in competitions and championships all over the world, he retired from competing and continued his shooting career as a Coach and National Selector. In 1986, Miro led Yugoslav Shooting Team to World Championships Title (prone women) in Suhl, Germany.
He worked as a High Performance Manager at the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Institute of Sport.
In 1992 he led the first Bosnian-Herzegovinian National Team from his war torn country to the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Olympic Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina at their first Olympics in Barcelona 1992 (Miro 4th bottom right).
