Elzan Bibić (; born 8 January 1999) is a Serbian middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. He won the bronze medal in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships. Bibić was the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

2016 European youth champion and won a bronze for the men's junior race at the 2018 European Cross Country Championships. He earned several Serbian national titles both out and indoors (1500 m and 3000 m). Bibić won the bronze medal in the event at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.

Running career

Bibić initially played soccer before training as a distance runner. He won the boys' 3000-meter race at the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival with a time of 8:50.10. On July 7, 2017, he won a 3000-meter race at a track meet 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 ...

, after which he felt knee pain. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with damaged ligaments in his knee, his first serious injury. On September 4, 2018, Bibić ran his then personal best of 3:37.79 (and still reigning Serbian U20 national record) in the men's 1500 meters at the

Hanžeković Memorial Hanžeković Memorial ( hr, Hanžekovićev memorijal) is an athletics event at the Sportski Park Mladost athletic stadium in Zagreb, Croatia as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1951. ''Hanžek'' (which is the ...

meet in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, finishing in last place among a deep international field led by first place finisher

Elijah Manangoi Elijah Motonei Manangoi (born 5 January 1993) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing winning the silver medal and at the 2017 World Championships, where he won t ...

. In the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade he finished 6th in the Heat 2 of 3000 meter race with the time of 7:52.78 and did not progress to the finals.

Personal life

Bibić was born in

Karajukića Bunari Karajukića Bunari ( sr-cyr, Карајукића Бунари) is a village located in the municipality of Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The popul ...

, known as the "Siberia" of Serbia due to extremely cold temperatures which are frequently recorded there. Karajukića Bunari is above 1,000 meters in altitude, as it is located on a plateau called

Pešter The Pešter Plateau ( sr, Пештерска висораван, Pešterska visoravan; sq, Rrafshnalta e Peshterit), or simply Pešter ( sr-Cyrl, Пештер, ; sq, Peshter), is a karst plateau in southwestern Serbia, in the Raška (or Sandžak ...

. Bibić went to a medical trade school in his hometown, Novi Pazar. His parents were athletes growing up. His father Murat played soccer and his mother Fatima played volleyball.

International competitions

Personal bests

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

– 1:50.31 (

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 19,380, while the municipality has 30,645 inhabitants. History The Romans founded the ...

2021) *

– 3:35.07 (

2020) ** 1500 metres indoor – 3:37.84 (

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 ...

2022) ** One mile indoor – 3:55.90 (

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

2023) *

– 7:39.45 (

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

2021) ** 3000 metres indoor – 7:39.96 (

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

2022) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

– 13:24.42 (

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...

2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibic, Elzan 1999 births Living people Serbian male middle-distance runners Serbian male long-distance runners Bosniaks of Serbia Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Serbia 21st-century Serbian people People from Sjenica Sportspeople from Zlatibor District European Games competitors for Serbia Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games