Luciano Sušanj (10 November 1948 – 14 April 2024) was a Croatian politician, sports worker and track athlete who competed for

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 ...

. Sušanj was successful in international competition over 400 and 800 meters, but was best known for winning the 800 meters European title in 1974. In the 1990s Sušanj started a political career, winning a seat in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

in 1990 and 2000. In 2000 he was elected president of the

Croatian Athletics Federation The Croatian Athletics Federation () is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in Croatia. It was founded in 1992 after Croatia had announced independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Medalists at ...

, and vice-president of the

Croatian Olympic Committee The Croatian Olympic Committee (, HOO) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. It also organizes the ...

Athletic career

Luciano Sušanj started athletics as a junior competitor for AK Kvarner in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

, his native city. In 1966 and 1967 Sušanj won a total of five medals with his club, competing over 100 meters, 400 meters, 4 × 100 meters and 400 meter hurdles in the national junior competition. In 1969 he became a Yugoslav champion over 400 meters and won the gold medal in the same event at the Balkan Games. In the early 1970s Sušanj shifted his focus from 400 meters towards 800 meters. His 800 meters breakthrough year was 1973, when he won the Yugoslav championship and the gold medal at the Balkan Games, repeating his 1969 success over 400 meters. His coach was Željko Leskovac. In the same year, Sušanj also became the 400 meters European indoor champion, winning the final on 11 March with 46.38 s, an indoor world record at the time. In his most famous race, the 800 meters final at the

1974 European Championships in Athletics The 11th European Athletics Championships of 1974 were held from 2 September to 8 September in Italy, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Complete results were p ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Sušanj used his speed to outsprint the opposition in the last 200 meters, and won the race by more than a second-and-a-half, beating a home crowd favorite and the reigning world record holder

Marcello Fiasconaro Marcello Luigi Fiasconaro (born 19 July 1949) is an Italian-South African athlete, who set a world record in the 800 m in 1973. Early life Born in Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Af ...

, as well as the then-18-year-old

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 ...

. After his surprise victory in Rome, Sušanj disappeared from the athletics scene. By that time, he was already married and a father of two, and quickly realized he would be unable to prepare for the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

while working at the same time. Between athletics and supporting his family, Sušanj chose the latter. Eventually, he did compete at the Montreal Olympics, where he placed sixth in the 800 m final, clocking 1:45.75. By his account, Sušanj was not in optimal form in Montreal because he was serving the army that year. A month after the Olympics he retired from the sport, pursuing a

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

diploma. Until Blanka Vlašić's

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

world title in 2007, Sušanj's 800 meters gold medal at the

was widely seen as the greatest individual achievement in the history of Croatian athletics. , his winning mark of 1:44.07 still stands as the Croatian record. In 2002, the

named Sušanj the all-time best Croatian male track and field athlete.

Political career

Until 1990, the year he entered politics, Sušanj was employed as a sports worker in

. In the first democratic election in Croatia, he obtained a seat in the

and served as an MP until 1992. In the 1990s, he served as deputy-mayor of

and president of the Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar, a regional party active in the

Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje – Gorski Kotar County (, ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in western Croatia, most of it based in the historical and cultural region called Croatia proper and some of it in Istria, including the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding Northe ...

. In 2000 Sušanj was again elected to the Croatian Parliament, and became president of the

and vice-president of the

. In 2002 he ran for the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, but lost to

Zlatko Mateša Zlatko Mateša (; born 17 June 1949) is a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 1995 to 2000. A member of the Croatian Democratic Union, Mateša is currently the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee and honora ...

. In 2003, Sušanj left the Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar over disagreements with its president Nikola Ivaniš, and entered the newly formed Autonomous Regional Party (), of which he was a co-founder.

Death

Luciano Sušanj died in

on 14 April 2024. He was 75.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Susanj, Luciano 1948 births 2024 deaths Croatian male middle-distance runners Croatian sports executives and administrators Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Croatian male sprinters Croatian sportsperson-politicians Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia Sportspeople from Rijeka Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar politicians European Athletics Championships medalists Yugoslav male sprinters Yugoslav male middle-distance runners Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Mediterranean Games Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners