Sara Isaković (born 9 June 1988) is a retired

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

swimmer. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, aged 20, she placed 2nd in the 200 m freestyle with the time of 1:54.97, becoming the second woman ever (behind

Federica Pellegrini Federica Pellegrini (; born 5 August 1988) is an Italian retired swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the province of Venice, she holds the women's 200 meters freestyle world record (long course, 50 m), and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing ...

) to break the 1 min 55 sec mark. It is still, to this day, the only swimming Olympic medal won for Slovenia. Isaković competed for Slovenia at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Early life

Being raised by a Slovenian mother and Serbian father, the family together with her twin brother Gal traveled all around the world due to her father's profession (Pilot/Examiner on Emirates B777). This finally led them to settle in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, where Sara spent most of her childhood. Growing up she attended international schools, with the dream being to one day pursue studies in the U.S. where she could combine both athletics and academics at a world-class level.

College career

After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she moved to Berkeley, California, where she attended University of California Berkeley and represented the Cal Women's swim team, under the leadership of

Teri McKeever Teri McKeever (born c. 1962) is an American college and Olympic swimming coach. She has been the head coach of the California Golden Bears women's swimming team at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1993. Her Cal Bears teams have won ...

, during her college years. In her four years of being a student-athlete, she won three National Team Titles and individually won the 100 butterfly at NCAA's during her Senior year at Cal. Isaković graduated with a degree in Psychology, in May 2013. Isaković moved to Dubai, where she is building her career in performance psychology and helping performers of all types achieve their maximum potential.

Career achievements

2004- 2x European Junior Champion (Lisbon) 2004- Youngest member of the Athens Slovenian Olympic Team, at the age of 16. 2005- 2 Silver medals at Almeria, Spain, Mediterranean Games. 2005- First Slovenian woman to final at World Swimming Championships, in Montreal. (5th place 200 freestyle) 2007- 7th place in 200 butterfly at Melbourne World Championships 2008- First woman in Slovenian swimming to win a European Championships title- 200 freestyle 2008- Silver Medal at Beijing Olympics 2009- Semi-finalist at World Championships in Rome 2010- Gold medal at University Games, Belgrade- 200 freestyle, Finalist at European Championships 2011- Semi-finalist at World Championships in Shanghai- 200 freestyle 2012- Bronze medalist at European Championships, Debrecen- 4x200 freestyle relay 2012- Semi-finalist at London Olympic Games- 200 freestyle

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isakovic, Sara 1988 births Living people Slovenian female swimmers Olympic swimmers of Slovenia Slovenian female freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Slovenia California Golden Bears women's swimmers Slovenian people of Serbian descent People from Bled European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Slovenia Swimmers at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Universiade gold medalists for Slovenia Universiade silver medalists for Slovenia Universiade bronze medalists for Slovenia Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade