Croatia at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
Encyclopedia
Croatia
competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
from 15–23 August. A team of 5 athletes was announced in preparation for the competition. Selected athletes have achieved one of the competition's qualifying standards
. Blanka Vlašić
defended her high jump
world title.
, director of the Croatian Athletics Federation
. Two out of five athletes qualified by meeting the A standard: Blanka Vlašić
and Sandra Perković
. Except for Sandra Perković, all athletes in the Croatian team had prior experience from major athletics competitions (European Championships, World Championships, or Olympic Games).
Jurica Grabušić
also qualified by meeting the 110 meter hurdles B standard, but decided against competing after consultations with his coach.
fell short of his season's best of 20.08 m by approximately one meter, and did not advance to the shot put final.
András Haklits
advanced to the hammer throw final by improving on his season's best of 76.28 m. His best throw in the final was only slightly shorter, which was good enough for 7th place, and the greatest success of his career.
came to the World Championships with a season's best of 2.05 m, edged by world leading 2.06 m set by her main rival and home crowd favorite Ariane Friedrich
, who had beaten Vlašić at the European Athletics Indoor Championships earlier that year.
Despite a warmup accident on the morning of high jump qualification, when Vlašić hit her head on the door frame and sustained a head injury that required stitches, she made the qualifying height without problems.
In the high jump final, Vlašić was one of three athletes to clear 2.02 m, and the only athlete to clear 2.04 m, pushing Chicherova
and Friedrich to second and third respectively, and thus successfully defending her world title. She celebrated the victory in an emotional way, saying later that winning the gold medal was "one of the hardest things I have done in my career", and was "not comparable with Osaka
".
Sandra Perković
was, at age 19, the youngest discus thrower at the championships, including the qualifiers. Less than a month prior, she had won a gold medal at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships
with a throw of 62.44 m, meeting the A standard, and breaking the national record held by her national team colleague Vera Begić
. In Berlin, Perković made the final with a 62.16 m qualifying mark. In the final, she made only one legal throw of 60.77 m out of three attempts, and finished 9th.
Vera Begić
's qualifying discus throw of 58.25 m was well short of her personal and season's best of 61.52 m, and was only good enough for 24th place.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
from 15–23 August. A team of 5 athletes was announced in preparation for the competition. Selected athletes have achieved one of the competition's qualifying standards
2009 World Championships in Athletics qualification standards
The following marks are the A and B qualification standards for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. Each country may send a maximum of four athletes who have attained the A qualification mark in each specific event. A maximum of three athletes can compete in that event, with the sole...
. Blanka Vlašić
Blanka Vlašic
Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic...
defended her high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
world title.
Team selection
Croatian team at the 2009 World Championships was selected by Siniša ErgotićSiniša Ergotic
Siniša Ergotić is a Croatian long jumper.He won the gold medal the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis and the silver medal at the 2002 European Championships in Athletics in Munich...
, director of the Croatian Athletics Federation
Croatian Athletics Federation
The Croatian Athletics Federation is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Croatia.It was founded in 1992 after Croatia had announced independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
. Two out of five athletes qualified by meeting the A standard: Blanka Vlašić
Blanka Vlašic
Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic...
and Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković is a Croatian discus thrower. After a successful junior career, she won the discus throw gold medal at the 2010 European Championships, in her first year of senior competition...
. Except for Sandra Perković, all athletes in the Croatian team had prior experience from major athletics competitions (European Championships, World Championships, or Olympic Games).
Jurica Grabušić
Jurica Grabušić
Jurica Grabušić is a Croatian athlete who specializes in the 110 metre hurdles. A double Olympic competitor in his event, he also participated in bobsleigh at the 2006 Olympic Games.-Early career:...
also qualified by meeting the 110 meter hurdles B standard, but decided against competing after consultations with his coach.
| Event | Athletes | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... |
Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašic Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic... |
|
| Shot put Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action.... |
Nedžad Mulabegović Nedžad Mulabegovic Nedžad Mulabegović is a Croatian shot putter. His personal best throw is 20.56 metres, achieved in July 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.... |
|
| Discus throw Discus throw The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus... |
Sandra Perković Sandra Perković Sandra Perković is a Croatian discus thrower. After a successful junior career, she won the discus throw gold medal at the 2010 European Championships, in her first year of senior competition... Vera Begić Vera Begic Vera Begić is Croatian athlete specialized in discus throwing discipline. Since Vera's mother Jadranka Antunović also was a successful athlete and member of the national team in the former Yugoslavia , Vera has been connected to athletics from the early childhood... |
|
| Hammer throw Hammer throw The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown... |
András Haklits András Haklits András Haklits is a Croatian hammer thrower. He represented Hungary until July 1998.He finished tenth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games... |
|
Men
Nedžad MulabegovićNedžad Mulabegovic
Nedžad Mulabegović is a Croatian shot putter. His personal best throw is 20.56 metres, achieved in July 2010 in Barcelona, Spain....
fell short of his season's best of 20.08 m by approximately one meter, and did not advance to the shot put final.
András Haklits
András Haklits
András Haklits is a Croatian hammer thrower. He represented Hungary until July 1998.He finished tenth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games...
advanced to the hammer throw final by improving on his season's best of 76.28 m. His best throw in the final was only slightly shorter, which was good enough for 7th place, and the greatest success of his career.
| Event | Athletes | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| Shot put 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's shot put The Men's Shot Put event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15. The Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski entered the competition as the world-leading athlete and one of the favourites... |
Nedžad Mulabegović Nedžad Mulabegovic Nedžad Mulabegović is a Croatian shot putter. His personal best throw is 20.56 metres, achieved in July 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.... |
19.15 | 14 | Did not advance | |
| Hammer throw 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw The Men's Hammer Throw event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15 and August 17. With reigning champion Ivan Tsikhan banned from competition for doping offences, the 2008 Olympic gold and silver medallists Primož Kozmus and Krisztián Pars were... |
András Haklits András Haklits András Haklits is a Croatian hammer thrower. He represented Hungary until July 1998.He finished tenth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and eighth at the 2008 Olympic Games... |
76.39 | 9 q | 76.26 | 7 |
Women
Blanka VlašićBlanka Vlašic
Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic...
came to the World Championships with a season's best of 2.05 m, edged by world leading 2.06 m set by her main rival and home crowd favorite Ariane Friedrich
Ariane Friedrich
Ariane Friedrich, born Tempel is a German high jumper. She won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships and represented Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
, who had beaten Vlašić at the European Athletics Indoor Championships earlier that year.
Despite a warmup accident on the morning of high jump qualification, when Vlašić hit her head on the door frame and sustained a head injury that required stitches, she made the qualifying height without problems.
In the high jump final, Vlašić was one of three athletes to clear 2.02 m, and the only athlete to clear 2.04 m, pushing Chicherova
Anna Chicherova
Anna Vladimirovna Chicherova is a Russian high jumper. She was the gold medalist at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and won a bronze medal in the event at the 2008 Summer Olympics...
and Friedrich to second and third respectively, and thus successfully defending her world title. She celebrated the victory in an emotional way, saying later that winning the gold medal was "one of the hardest things I have done in my career", and was "not comparable with Osaka
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
".
Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković is a Croatian discus thrower. After a successful junior career, she won the discus throw gold medal at the 2010 European Championships, in her first year of senior competition...
was, at age 19, the youngest discus thrower at the championships, including the qualifiers. Less than a month prior, she had won a gold medal at the 2009 European Athletics Junior Championships
2009 European Athletics Junior Championships
The 20th European Athletics Junior Championships were held between 23 and 26 July 2009 in the Stadion Karađorđe in Novi Sad, Serbia.- Men's results :- Women's results :- Medal table :- References :Day reports...
with a throw of 62.44 m, meeting the A standard, and breaking the national record held by her national team colleague Vera Begić
Vera Begic
Vera Begić is Croatian athlete specialized in discus throwing discipline. Since Vera's mother Jadranka Antunović also was a successful athlete and member of the national team in the former Yugoslavia , Vera has been connected to athletics from the early childhood...
. In Berlin, Perković made the final with a 62.16 m qualifying mark. In the final, she made only one legal throw of 60.77 m out of three attempts, and finished 9th.
Vera Begić
Vera Begic
Vera Begić is Croatian athlete specialized in discus throwing discipline. Since Vera's mother Jadranka Antunović also was a successful athlete and member of the national team in the former Yugoslavia , Vera has been connected to athletics from the early childhood...
's qualifying discus throw of 58.25 m was well short of her personal and season's best of 61.52 m, and was only good enough for 24th place.
| Event | Athletes | Qualification | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
| High jump 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's high jump The women's high jump event at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany was held between 18 August and 20 August 2009.Reigning champion Blanka Vlašić had spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons largely unbeaten, but high profile losses in the Olympic high jump final and the 2008 IAAF Golden League... |
Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašic Blanka Vlašić is a Croatian athlete who specialises in the high jump. She is the current Croatian record holder in the event, and also the current indoorWorld Champion. The daughter of Croatian decathlon record holder Joško Vlašić, she was a talented junior athlete and attended her first Olympic... |
1.95 | 1 Q | 2.04 |  |
| Discus throw 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's discus throw The women's discus throw at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 19 and August 21.Reigning Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton was the favourite for the gold. She had set a career best and had the four longest throws of any athlete that season,... |
Sandra Perković Sandra Perković Sandra Perković is a Croatian discus thrower. After a successful junior career, she won the discus throw gold medal at the 2010 European Championships, in her first year of senior competition... |
62.16 | 6 Q | 60.77 | 9 |
| Vera Begić Vera Begic Vera Begić is Croatian athlete specialized in discus throwing discipline. Since Vera's mother Jadranka Antunović also was a successful athlete and member of the national team in the former Yugoslavia , Vera has been connected to athletics from the early childhood... |
58.25 | 24 | Did not advance | ||