Fak (31) and Garnbret (19) were honoured for top international achievements last year and Bunčič and Urnaut for lifetime achievements as the EUR 9,000 prizes were conferred for the 54th time.

The Croatian-born biathlete was recognised for winning silver in the men's 20-km individual race at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February. It was his second Olympic medal after the bronze in sprint in 2010.

Garnbret is a teen climbing sensation who made history last year by becoming the first sport climber, male or female, to win world champion titles in three disciplines.

She rounded off the feat by securing the overall Climbing World Cup victory in the women's lead discipline for the third year running and finishing fourth overall in the World Cup.

Born in 1949, Bunčič started his career in air sports 50 years ago, first as a parachutist and sport pilot and then as an instructor. As a parachutist he was active between 1967 and 1981 to win several local and international competitions.

His biggest achievement as an instructor was the silver medal in team jumps with Yugoslavia at the world championship in 1984. The Lesce parachuting club has won 50 gold, 30 silver and 34 bronze medals at various competitions under his guidance.

Born in 1941, Urnaut has been involved in volleyball for more than 60 years as a player, coach and official. He played for the Yugoslav national team for ten years, captaining it between 1967 and 1971, to win three golds at the Mediterranean games.

Urnaut has coached many clubs and national teams in volleyball, beach volleyball and sitting volleyball. He is the grandfather of Tine Urnaut, a member of the Slovenian team that won silver at the 2015 European Championship.