Saška Sokolov (born 15 May 1995) is a Serbian athlete who competed for her nation in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

, and

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

Career

Saška Sokolov was born in

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, the daughter of football coach Sasha Sokolov. As a child, she began to participate in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, but as Pirot did not have a women's team, she switched to

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

where she played for ŽRK Pirot. In 2013, she moved to

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where she attended the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation. She had moved to the capital to study defectology. While there, she took up

, and became Junior European Champion within three months. She also won the gold medal in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. Within a year, she had qualified for the

with a personal best throw of . While at the 2016 Games, she was one of the youngest competitors. Sokolov competed in the F46 class of the women's javelin throw where she finished in sixth place with a longest throw of . She afterwards spoke of her desire to win the event at the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. She competed at the 2018 European Championships, where she won a bronze medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolov, Saska Paralympic athletes for Serbia Sportspeople from Pirot Serbian female javelin throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Living people 1995 births 21st-century Serbian sportswomen Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Serbian shot putters Paralympic javelin throwers Paralympic shot putters Serbian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics