Hana Basic (born 22 January 1996) is an Australian sprinter who competes in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

. Basic was selected to represent Australia at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in the women's 100 m event. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at Deakin University.

Early years

Basic was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to father Armin from

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

who ran a café and mother Zana, a lawyer from

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

. The Basic family fled to Australia just three years before she was born at the start of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. She also has an older sister named Mia. Bosnian was her first language, as she only learned English in primary school. Basic started playing sport as a gymnast when she was in pre-school. When she was 9 years old her primary school Physical Education teacher saw her athletics potential and encouraged her to go to Nunawading Little Athletics. Basic went to her first nationals in the Under-10s for high jump and long jump. By the age of 14, she was already running under 12 seconds for the 100m and winning national sprint titles. Basic decided to make running her priority.

Athletics career

Basic earned a scholarship to

Carey Grammar School (With Courage and Faith) , city = Kew & Donvale , state = Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, co-educational, Christia ...

and went to the

2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1995 or later) which was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on 22–27 July 2014. A total of 44 a ...

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

and ran a personal best of 11.64 seconds for the 100 metres that year. She changed her diet and training. On 17 April 2021 she won the Australian National Championship 100 metres in a time of 11.23 seconds. Just prior to that at the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Classic she had clocked a new personal best of 11.18 to become the fourth fastest woman in Australian history. She then improved her personal best to 11.16 at Meeting de la Gruyere in Bulle,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She represented Australia in the 100 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished fifth in her heat running 11.32 seconds, and failed to advance to the semi-finals.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basic, Hana 1996 births Living people Australian female sprinters Australian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School Place of birth missing (living people) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Olympic female sprinters