Dragan Zdravković (born 16 December 1959 in Senjski Rudnik) is a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

former

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

. He represented

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in international competition from the late 1970s to 1980s, and was a finalist at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. Zdravković holds multiple outdoor and indoor Serbian records in athletics.

Running career

Zdravković initially practiced

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a youngster in

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 16,522, while the municipality has 25,325 inhabitants (2022 census). History The Romans ...

, until a school teacher, Aleksandar "Aca" Petrović, suggested that he begin training athletics. Zdravković's youth coaches emphasized

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

as a complement to his running workouts. At the age of 21 he made his Olympic debut at the

. 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 Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metre ...

: 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 The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, London, Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor Sport of athletics, athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the for ...

in an upset over Sebastian Coe. He had qualified for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, but the Athletics Federation of Yugoslavia had a sportswear contract with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

, and after not changing his sportswear to Adidas, Zdravković was taken off the Yugoslavian 1984 Olympic team.

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zdravkovic, Dragan 1959 births Living people People from Senjski Rudnik Serbian male middle-distance runners Yugoslav male middle-distance runners Serbian male cross country runners Yugoslav male cross country runners Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners

Running career

International competitions

See also

References