Herman Zloklikovits

A dynasty in the making, Herman Zloklikovits was a member of the gold medal winning University of British Columbia (UBC) eights crew representing Canada at the 1954 Commonwealth Games, where before 12,000 fans, the “Cinderella Crew” beat the Britons by two and a half boat lengths.

The same UBC crew, with Zloklikovits was invited by Prince Philip himself to compete at the 1955 Royal Henley Regatta where they shocked the world again and defeated the defending champion Russian crew by a length and a quarter to win the semi-final. They eventually lost in the final to the University of Pennsylvania crew but credit for the Canadian success was given to Coach Frank Read for the dedication, discipline and physical condition the crew had, and jump-starting UBC’s famed rowing program.

An all-round athlete, Zloklikovits was a long jumper and talented baseball player competing in the Western Canada League.

Zloklikovits was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1958, British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966, and UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.