Dragan Zdravković (born 16 December 1959 in Senjski Rudnik) is a Serbian former middle-distance runner. He represented Yugoslavia in international competition from the late 1970s to 1980s, and was a finalist at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[2] Zdravković holds multiple outdoor and indoor Serbian records in athletics.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Yugoslav Serbian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 16 December 1959 Senjski Rudnik, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 1500 meters, mile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 800m: 1:48.34[1] 1500m: 3:34.85[1] Mile: 3:52.24[1] 3000m: 7:40.49[1] 5000m: 13:35.83[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Running career
editZdravković initially practiced football as a youngster in Ćuprija, until a school teacher, Aleksandar "Aca" Petrović, suggested that he begin training athletics.[3] Zdravković's youth coaches emphasized gymnastics as a complement to his running workouts.[3] At the age of 21 he made his Olympic debut at the 1980 Summer Olympics. In the men's 1500 meters, he progressed through the qualifying heat and semi-final rounds, but finished last in the finals. In spite of this, he was particularly happy to race with Steve Ovett:
"Yes, Steve Ovett was more sympathetic to me than Sebastian Coe. Ovett was from a working family, but Coe was a Lord. In the Olympics final in Moscow they restricted warm ups on the training field, on the track only two strides were allowed before the race. I did my first stride and turned around. Ovett ran towards me, stopped next to me and offered his hand. I didn't want to wash it for four days from how happy I was. He was different, more natural." -Zdravković[4]
On 6 March 1983 Zdravković won the men's men's 3000 meters at the European Indoor Championships. On 15 July 1983 he won the men's 1500 meters in 3:35.28 (min:sec) at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in an upset over Sebastian Coe.[5]
"I didn't have anything to lose, even if I was second it would have been a great result. Even today I joke about that race and say 'even the blind chicken gets some grain'. To be honest, if we ran three days later, he would have beat me." -Zdravković[4]
He had qualified for the 1984 Summer Olympics, but the Athletics Federation of Yugoslavia had a sportswear contract with Adidas, and after not changing his sportswear to Adidas, Zdravković was taken off the Yugoslavian 1984 Olympic team.[3]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Mediterranean Games | Split, Yugoslavia | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:41.22 |
| 1980 | Olympic Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 9th | 1500 m | |
| 1982 | European Championships | Athens, Greece | 9th | 1500 m | 3:42.44 |
| 1983 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 3000 m | |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 8th | 1500 m | ||
| 1985 | Universiade | Kobe, Japan | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:46.78 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e World Athletics. "Dragan ZDRAVKOVIĆ - Profile".
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dragan Zdravković". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07.
- ^ a b c ASS (Atletski Savez Srbije) (3 February 2011). "KRALJ SREDNJIH PRUGA DRAGAN ZDRAVKOVIĆ" (in Serbian).
- ^ a b "Čovek koji je utišao "Kristal palas"" (in Serbian). January 8, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ "UPI: Dragan Zdravkovic of Yugoslavia upset world record-holder Sebastian Coe...". July 15, 1983. Retrieved October 20, 2018.