Barbara Jelić-Ružić (born 8 May 1977) is a former international volleyball player 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 ...

. Barbara is the sister of volleyball player Vesna Jelić who was also part of the Croatian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. They are the daughters of volleyball player Ivica Jelić who was the head coach of the Croatian team in 2000 and played for the Yugoslav team at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Early life and career

Jelić was born in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

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 ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

to Croatian father Ivica and Slovenian mother Margareta, both former players. At 17 she went to Japan to play as a professional for five years, where she was frequently honored best player in different categories. As an outstanding outside and opposite hitter she led the Croatian team with her father Ivica Jelić as coach to three silver medals at the European Championships 1995, 1997 and 1999, a sensational 7th place at the Olympics in

Sydney 2000 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 ...

and a 6th place at the World Championship 1998 in Japan. Thereby she often scored more points than the rest of her teammates all together. Accordingly, she was elected best scorer at the WC 1998, the World Cup 1999, the Olympic Qualification 2000 and more. In 2000, she was honored best player of Europe. She was considered the most valuable player at the Sydney Games. After her time in Japan she played in the Italian and Turkish league gaining further titles - with an interruption in the 2000–01 season to become a mother - and called it a career in 2004. She briefly returned to support Croatia at the European Championship in her home country in 2005, persuaded by her coach-father to be a role model for young Croatian girls. After a good 3rd place in preliminaries with outstanding Ružić, Croatia finished ranked 8th with Ružić being slightly injured in the final round.

Personal life

In 2001, she married Tomislav Ružić, a Croatian basketball player. As of 2015, Jelić-Ružić lives in

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...

with her husband and two children named Zara and Michael.http://www.zadarskilist.hr/clanci/19102008/barbara-jelic

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jelic-Ruzic, Barbara 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Novo Mesto Croatian women's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players for Croatia Eczacıbaşı Dynavit players Croatian people of Slovenian descent Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Outside hitters