Vera Nikolić (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Вера Николић; 23 September 1948 – 28 June 2021) was a Serbian middle-distance runner, who competed at the

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and 1972 Olympics, and later became a coach.

Biography

Nikolić began her career in 1964 when she became Yugoslav youth champion and later Balkan youth cross-country champion at the age of 16. In the summer of that year, she set two national youth records with 57.3 seconds over 400 meters and 2:14.4 minutes over 800 meters. At the 1966 European Championships in Budapest, she won the gold medal in the 800 metres race. At 17 years and 346 days, Nikolić was the youngest European champion at the time, until she was replaced by the Spaniard Mari Cruz Díaz in 1986. Nikolić received a Golden Badge of ''

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

'', award for the best athlete of

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 ...

in 1966. In 1967, she set a junior world record of 1:25.2 minutes over the rarely run 600 metres distance. She won the British WAAA Championships title in the 800 metres event on 20 July at the 1968 WAAA Championships, setting a world record of 2.00.5. At the 1969 European Championships in Athens, she had to settle for third place. But at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, she became European champion again. In the same year, she won both the 800 and 1500 metres at the Mediterranean Games. As one of the favourites at the 1968 Olympic Games, she could not cope with the pressure of expectations and ended the race early. she gave up her semifinal – after leading it for 300 metres she suddenly stepped off the track, walked back to the start, sat down and took off her shoes. She changed coaches and moved to Zagreb, where she competed for Dinamo Zagreb. Her world record was beaten on 11 July 1971 by the German Hildegard Falck. Her successes were initially based on intensive interval training under coach Aleksandar Petrović. It was only in Zagreb, under the direction of coach Leo Lang, that she began to lay a broader foundation in endurance. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Vera Nikolić took fifth place in the 800 metres with a time of 1:59.98 minutes.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolic, Vera 1948 births 2021 deaths People from Despotovac Sportspeople from Pomoravlje District Serbian female middle-distance runners Yugoslav female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners