Slaven Krajačić (born 14 September 1980) is a

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 ...

n sportsperson. He started his career as a sprinter specializing 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 ...

, and competed at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Since 2003, he has competed as a

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der, competing in two

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, earning his best finish of 20th in the four-man event at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Athletics career

He was born 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 ...

, and enrolled the sports club Hrvatski Akademski Atletski Klub Mladost, the athletics section of '' Mladost''. He became Croatian 100 metres champion in 2000, and 60 metres indoor champion in 2001. In 1998 he reached the quarter-final of the

1998 World Junior Championships 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

.. Retrieved on 22 March 2009. His first major senior event was the

. He competed in the 100 metres event, but did not progress from the first round. He also competed with the Croatian team in the 4 x 100 metre relay, but was knocked out in the heats there as well. His personal best time was 10.47 seconds, achieved in the heats at the 1998 World Junior Championships. He also has 6.68 seconds in the 60 metres, achieved in February 2001 in Šempeter,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. He came close to his personal best time on several occasions, running seasons bests of 10.50 seconds in 2000 and 10.48 seconds in 2002. However, he retired from international athletics after the 2002 season.

Bobsleigh career

After his retirement from athletics, Krajačić took up

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

, participating in the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, as a part of the national four-man bobsleigh team. The team also consisted of 44-year-old

Ivan Šola Ivan Šola (born 12 December 1961) is a Croatian bobsledder who has competed since 1999. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned his best finish of 20th in the four-man event at Vancouver in 2010. Šola also competed in the FIBT World Champ ...

, as well as two athletes,

Jurica Grabušić Jurica Grabušić (born 28 March 1983) is a Croatian athlete who specializes in the 110 metre hurdles. A double Olympic competitor ( 2004, 2008) in his event, he also participated in bobsleigh at the 2006 Olympic Games. Early c ...

and

Dejan Vojnović Dejan Vojnović (born 23 March 1975) is a retired Croatian sportsperson. He started his career as a sprinter specializing in the 100 metres run, and competed at the 2000 Olympic Games. Some years later he took up bobsleigh, participating in ...

. Krajačić had been a teammate of Vojnović in the 2000 Olympic relay race. The bobsleigh team finished in 23rd place overall. Four years later in

, Krajačić finished 20th in the four-man event. His best finish at the

FIBT World Championships The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since 1930. Starting with 2002, championships of non-Winter Olympic ...

was 24th in the four-man event at

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. That same year, Krajačić earned his best finish in a World Cup with a 23rd-place finish in the four-man event at

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krajacic, Slaven 1980 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Croatian male sprinters Croatian male bobsledders Living people Olympic athletes for Croatia Olympic bobsledders for Croatia Sportspeople from Zagreb