Nikša Roki (born 8 February 1988) is a Croatian swimmer, who specialized in butterfly and individual medley events. He represented his nation

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 ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and has claimed multiple-time Croatian championship titles and national records throughout his swimming career in the 200 m butterfly and the individual medley double (both 200 and 400 m). Roki competed for

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 ...

in two swimming events at the

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. Leading up to the Games, he managed to dip beneath the FINA B-cut in 2:01.56 (200 m butterfly) and 4:25.28 (400 m individual medley) at the Golden Bear 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 ...

. On the first day of the Games, Roki broke a Croatian record of 4:22.44 to touch the wall first in heat one of the 400 m individual medley, but finished only in twenty-third place. In the 200 m butterfly, Roki repeated his luck in the evening prelims, as he topped the first heat against India's Rehan Poncha, Peru's Emmanuel Crescimbeni, and Honduras' Javier Hernández Maradiaga, overhauling a sub-2:00 barrier with a new Croatian record on a tech body suit in 1:59.58, nearly two seconds faster than his entry time. Roki failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed thirty-first overall in the prelims. Roki is previously a member of the swimming team for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

, and a graduate of biology at the

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(2011). He was also named an honorable mention Scholar All-American by the National Swimming Coaches Association of America in 2009. Roki is currently a graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park and is a teaching assistant for freshman level bioengineering courses.

References

External links

Profile – Croatian Olympic Committee

Player Bio – Ohio State Buckeyes
1985 births Living people Croatian male swimmers Olympic swimmers for Croatia Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Male medley swimmers Male butterfly swimmers Swimmers from Zagreb Ohio State Buckeyes men's swimmers Expatriate swimmers in the United States Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni 21st-century Croatian people {{Croatia-swimming-bio-stub