Joško Vlašić (; born 22 July 1956) is a

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 athletics coach and a former

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ� ...

who represented

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Vlašić's greatest competitive success was winning the decathlon gold medal at the

1983 Mediterranean Games The IX Mediterranean Games (), commonly known as the 1983 Mediterranean Games, were the 9th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Casablanca, Morocco, from 3 to 17 September 1983, where 2,192 athletes (1,845 men and 347 women) from 16 coun ...

, but he is best known for coaching his daughter

Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašić (; born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian former track and field athlete who specialised in the high jump. She is a double world champion, an indoor world champion and twice Olympic medallist. Vlašić's personal best of is a Cr ...

, a world champion

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er.

Biography

Joško Vlašić was born in 1956 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 ...

. He started with athletics in ASK Split, a local club. His coach Ante Tešija decided Vlašić would do well in decathlon, describing him as "tall and skinny". According to Tešija, Vlašić was initially very skeptical regarding his aptitude for the sport, but he was tenacious, loved to train, and the results came quickly. In the following years, Vlašić became the leading Yugoslav decathlete, winning five consecutive national championships, from 1979 to 1983. He won two decathlon medals in consecutive

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

: bronze in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, and gold in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. His first child,

(born 1983), was named after

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, the host city of the 1983 Games. Vlašić also competed in the 1983 World Championships, placing 16th. Vlašić's decathlon personal best of 7659 points, set in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in June 1983, was the Croatian record until July 2021.

Coaching career

In 1982 Vlašić graduated from the Faculty of Physical Culture 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 ...

, department in Split. He worked as a coach in his home club, ASK Split, and then as a

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher in several elementary and high schools in Split. From 1994 to 2001, Vlašić worked as a fitness coach in

KK Split Košarkaški klub Split (), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball Sports club, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the HT Premijer liga, Croatian Leag ...

basketball club. Since 2006, Vlašić is employed by the

Croatian Athletics Federation The Croatian Athletics Federation () is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in Croatia. It was founded in 1992 after Croatia had announced independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Medalists at ...

as a professional athletics coach. Vlašić is best known for coaching his daughter

. In her youth, she tried many athletic events, as well as sports such as tennis, basketball and volleyball, but settled on high jump after consultation with her father. As a high jumper, she became a double world outdoor champion, double world indoor champion, European champion, Olympic silver medalist, and double world junior champion. She describes her father as her "greatest asset".

Personal life

Joško Vlašić is married to Venera Milin, a physical education teacher and a former

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

national champion. They have four children:

Blanka Blanka (; Japanese: ) also known by his birth name Jimmy, is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' fighting game series. He first appeared in ''Street Fighter II'' (1991) as one of eight playable characters, and was subsequently featured in ...

(born 1983), Marin (born ), Luka (born ), and

Nikola Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek '' Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bul ...

(born 1997).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasic, Josko Croatian decathletes Croatian athletics coaches 1956 births Sportspeople from Split, Croatia Living people Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners