Aldin Ćatović (born 6 April 2007) is a Serbian

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

- and

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling *Long-distance operator *Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths *Long-distance trail *European long-dista ...

runner. He is a multiple time Serbian national champion. In 2024, he won gold and silver medals at the

European Athletics U18 Championships The European Athletics U18 Championships (named as European Athletics Youth Championships in 2016) are a biennial athletics competition for European athletes under the age of eighteen ( youth category). The creation of the competition stemmed fr ...

, over

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

and

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

, respectively.

Career

He is a member of Novi Pazar Athletics Club, where he is coached by Rifar Ziljkić. In February 2023, he won his first senior national indoor title, winning over

at the Serbian Indoor Athletics Championships. In July 2023, he won the

race at the

2023 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival The 2023 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival or simply EYOF 2023, also known as Maribor 2023, was the 17th edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival, European Youth Summer Olympic Festival, held from 23 to 29 July 2023 in Maribor, Sloveni ...

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

, Slovenia. That month he helped Novi Pazar win the Inter-Municipal Youth Sports Games (MOSI) in

Kolašin Kolašin (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, nam ...

, and was the most successful individual male athlete. In February 2024, he won the Serbian senior national indoor title over

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

and retained his 1500m national indoors title at the same championships. He then won senior Serbian national outdoor titles over 800 metres and 1500 metres in June 2024. He won the gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 2024 European Athletics U18 Championships in

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, Slovakia, setting a championship record time of 8:07.03. He won the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the same championships. In November 2024, he was given the best young athlete award for 2024 by the Balkan Athletics Federation. He competed at the

2024 European Cross Country Championships The 2024 European Cross Country Championships was the 30th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was held on 8 December 2024 in Antalya, Turkey. This was the first time Turkey has staged the European Cross Coun ...

, in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, Turkey in December 2024.

Personal life

He is from

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

in the

Raška District The Raška District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It expands to the southwestern part of the country. According to the 2022 census, it has a population of 296,532 inhabitants. The administrative center of the Raška distric ...

of southwestern Serbia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ćatović, Aldin 2007 births Living people Serbian middle-distance runners Serbian long-distance runners 21st-century Serbian sportsmen