Dragan Perić ( sr, Драган Перић, born 8 May 1964) is a Serbian retired

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter who occasionally competed in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

. He holds the Serbian records in both events. He represented Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro in four consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

from 1992 to 2004, in eight World Championships from 1991 to 2005 and three European Championships from 1990 to 1998.

Early career and international medals

He was born in

Živinice Živinice ( sr-cyrl, Живинице) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, south of Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a ...

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

, but represented the clubs AK Sloboda Tuzla, AK Slavonija Osijek,

AK Partizan AK Partizan or Atletski Klub Partizan is an athletics club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is part of the sports society JSD Partizan. History The club was founded in 1945, being among the first five clubs of JSD Partizan. Honours Men *National ...

and

AK Crvena Zvezda AK Crvena zvezda is an athletics club from Belgrade, Serbia. It is part of the sports society SD Crvena Zvezda. Honours and achievements Men *National Championships **Winners (40): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 19 ...

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Before athletics, Dragan practised boxing. His former coaches were Nikola Tomasović, Dmitar Marceta and Veljko Čegar . His first European Championships was in 1990 in Split in his home country (then) Yugoslavia. Perić finished twelfth in the shot put final. He then finished seventh at the 1991 World Championships, seventh at the 1992 Olympic Games, fifth at the 1993 World Championships. In 1994 he won the silver medal at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

, and finished sixth at both the 1994 European Championships and the IAAF Grand Prix Final. After that he won the bronze medal at the 1995 World Indoor Championships. He passed the 19-metre barrier in 1988 with 19.92 metres, achieved in August in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, and the 20-metre barrier in 1988 with 20.42 metres, achieved in September in

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

. He improved this further to 20.47 metres in 1991, 20.91 metres in 1992 and 21.26 metres in 1993, all achieved in Belgrade. Two more meagre years followed before he came close in 1996 with 20.90 metres, achieved in August in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

Later career

After his success with international medals, the achievements became rarer. He finished eighth at the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, fourth at the 1998 European Indoor Championships, fourth at the 1998 European Championships, sixth at the 1999 World Championships and fifth at the 2001 World Championships. He also competed at the 1997 World Championships, the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the 2003 World Championships, the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and the 2005 World Championships without reaching the final. Perić became Balkan champion in 1996, 1998 and 2003. He became Yugoslav shot put champion every year from 1991 through 2001, except for one year, 1995. He also became discus champion in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997. When the country Serbia and Montenegro was formed he won several national titles there too. He set his personal best in the shot put in this period, with 21.77 metres in April 1998 in

Bar, Montenegro Bar ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Бар, ; sq, Tivar; it, Antivari or ''Antibari'') is a coastal town and seaport in southern Montenegro. It is the capital of the Bar Municipality and a center for tourism. According to the 2011 census, the ci ...

. He never threw over 21 metres again. He failed to even pass 20 metres in 2000 and 2002, but continued setting such marks for some years. His last season over 20 metres was in 2006, when he put 20.34 metres in September in

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...

. In the discus throw his personal best throw was 61.94 metres, achieved in May 1991 in Belgrade. Both results are Serbian records.

Competition record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peric, Dragan 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Tuzla Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian male shot putters Serbian male discus throwers Yugoslav male shot putters Yugoslav male discus throwers Serbia and Montenegro athletes Olympic athletes as Independent Olympic Participants Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Serbia and Montenegro Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Yugoslavia World Athletics Championships athletes for Serbia and Montenegro