Milan Neralić (26 February 1875 in

Slunj Slunj ( Hungarian ''Szluin'', old German ''Sluin'', Latin ''Slovin'', archaic Croatian ''Slovin grad'') is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and ...

– 17 February 1918 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

fencer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Biography

Born to a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

family, he was the first person from

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

to take part in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and the first one to win a medal. Neralić joined the army in 1893 and in 1895 took part in the Vienna newtown military fencing and gymnastics instructor course. His teachers included Heinrich Tenner and Rudolf Brosch. He participated in

fencing at the 1900 Summer Olympics At the 1900 Summer Olympics, seven fencing events were contested. 260 fencers from 19 nations competed. The events took place at the Tuileries Garden.Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the Master's

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

. He was defeated by Italian fencer

Italo Santelli Italo Santelli (15 August 1866 – 8 February 1945) was an Italian fencing, fencer who is considered to be the "father of modern sabre (fencing), sabre fencing". Biography Italo Santelli was born in Carrodano (La Spezia), Italy in 1866. He st ...

in the semi-final. Neralić spent most of his life in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

working as fencing instructor. His most notable student was

Richard Verderber Richard Verderber (January 23, 1884 – September 8, 1955) was an Austrian fencer who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Austrian sabre team, which won the silver medal. In the individual foil event he won the bro ...

, winner of the silver (saber team) and bronze (foil) medals at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

References

External links

* 1875 births 1918 deaths People from Slunj Croatian male sabre fencers Olympic bronze medalists for Austria Olympic fencers for Austria Fencers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in fencing Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Serbs of Croatia Theresian Military Academy alumni Austrian male sabre fencers {{Austria-Olympic-medalist-stub