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Dragan Zdravković

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Dragan Zdravković
Personal information
NationalityYugoslav
Serbian
Born (1959-12-16) 16 December 1959 (age 64)
Senjski Rudnik, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Sport
SportTrack
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
Representing  Yugoslavia
Men's athletics
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Budapest 3000m
Mediterranean Games
Silver medal – second place 1979 Split 1500m
Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1985 Kobe 1500 m

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.

Running career

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Zdravković 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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e World Athletics. "Dragan ZDRAVKOVIĆ - Profile".
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c ASS (Atletski Savez Srbije) (3 February 2011). "KRALJ SREDNJIH PRUGA DRAGAN ZDRAVKOVIĆ" (in Serbian).
  4. ^ a b "Čovek koji je utišao "Kristal palas"" (in Serbian). January 8, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "UPI: Dragan Zdravkovic of Yugoslavia upset world record-holder Sebastian Coe...". July 15, 1983. Retrieved October 20, 2018.