Velimir Stjepanović (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Велимир Стјепановић; born 7 August 1993) is a Serbian professional swimmer currently representing

DC Trident DC Trident is a professional swimming team based in Washington, D.C. DC Trident competes in the International Swimming League (ISL), which is a global, professional swimming league consisting of ten teams: the DC Trident, the New York Breakers, ...

at the

International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) is an annual professional Swimming (sport), swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October an ...

. He has won gold medals at the European Championships, European Short Course Championships and Mediterranean Games.

Youth and Junior Career

Born in Abu Dhabi, to

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

parents, he chose to represent

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

in the international swimming competitions. The Serbian youngster started swimming when he was barely six, mainly for fitness. However, by the time he was 12 his path crossed with that of coach Chris Tidey, who had relocated to Dubai from Cambridge. After a brief six-month training regimen under Tidey, Stjepanović won his first medal, a bronze, at a competition in England. He also studied in one of GEMS schools. Velimir competed at the 2009

European Youth Olympic Festival The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for youth (14 to 18 years old) athletes from the 50 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. The festival has a summer edition, held for the fir ...

. He won a gold medal in 100m

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

and silver in 100m Freestyle. At the

2010 Youth Olympic Games The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

, he was a Serbian flagbearer and won 2 medals, silver in 100m Freestley and bronze in 100m

therefore

Olympic Committee of Serbia The Olympic Committee of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's representatives at the Olympic Games and other multisport events. Members of the committee are 47 sports federations, wh ...

has declared him the best young athlete in 2010. Stjepanović won gold medals in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly at the 2011 European Junior Swimming Championships.

Senior career

2011

He represented Serbia at the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synch ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, where he competed in 100 and 400n freestyle and 200m

. At the

European Short Course Swimming Championships The European Short Course Swimming Championships (variously referred to informally as the "Short Course Europeans" or "European 25m Championships") are a swimming meet, organized by LEN. The meet features swimmers from Europe, competing in events ...

held in Szczecin he came 5th in final of 200m

2012

Stjepanović competed at the

2012 European Aquatics Championships The 2012 European Aquatics Championships were held from 14 to 27 May 2012 in Debrecen, Hungary and Eindhoven, Netherlands. The 2012 European Swimming Championships were to take place in Antwerp, Belgium, but were reallocated to the City of Debrec ...

and took 5th place in Men's 200m

Final. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he finished 6th of Men's 200m

Final. In the preliminary round he broke the Serbian national record and qualified for the semi finals with the 3rd time overall.

2013

At the

2013 Mediterranean Games The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...

held in Mersin,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

he won the gold medal in 200m and 400m freestyle and 200m

. Stjepanović competed at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships and qualified for the semi final of 200m freestyle and 200m

while he finished 18th in the 400m freestyle. At the end of the year, Stjepanović won gold medal in 200m

, bronze in 400m freestyle and finished 5th in 200m freestyle at the 2013 European Short Course Swimming Championships.

2014 World Championships (25m)

At the 2014 FINA Short Course World Championships in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

, Stjepanovic won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle. http://www.swimstar2000.net/all/doha/Doha-2014-SRB.htm

International Swimming League

Stjepanovic was a member of the inaugural

(ISL) representing

. He competed at the first two matches held in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, as well as in the American Derby held in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

Career best times

References

External links

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archive

Velimir Stjepanovic's profile
Swimming Club Partizan, official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Stjepanovic, Velimir Serbian male swimmers Swimmers at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Male butterfly swimmers Serbian male freestyle swimmers 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Dubai Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of Serbia European champions for Serbia Serbian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Serbia Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Serbia Swimmers at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Swimmers at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics