Željko Panić (born May 5, 1976) is a

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

n former swimmer, who specialized in sprint

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

events. Panić was born in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, where he first started to train in swimming in 1987. While in Split, he was also coached and trained by

Đurđica Bjedov Đurđa "Đurđica" Bjedov (born 5 April 1947) is a retired Croatian swimmer and the only Yugoslav Olympic champion in swimming. Bjedov never won a medal at major international competitions, except for the 1968 Olympics, where she finished fi ...

, a two-time breaststroke gold medalist. In 1991, he moved to

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

in SR Bosnia, where he became a resident swimmer for PK Borac Incel. Panic made his official debut at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where he competed in the men's 100 m freestyle. He touched out

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

's Francisco Sánchez to take the seventh spot and forty-ninth overall in the sixth heat by 0.03 of a second in 52.40. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Panic qualified again for the men's 100 m freestyle by eclipsing a FINA B-standard entry time of 52.12 from the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n Open Championships 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He challenged seven other swimmers on the second heat, including fellow Olympic veterans Alexandr Agafanov of Uzbekistan and Camilo Becerra of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Panic raced to third place by 0.18 of a second behind Becerra, outside his entry time of 52.75. Panic failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fifty-fifth overall in the preliminaries. Shortly after the Olympics, Panic retired from his sport to work as an assistant coach and later as a sports director for the Olympic Swimming Club ( sr-Latn, Plivački klub Olimp) in

References

External links

Profile – PK Olymp
1976 births Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Bosnia and Herzegovina Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Banja Luka Swimmers from Split, Croatia Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen {{BosniaHerzegovina-swimming-bio-stub