Susanna Elisabeth "Sanna" Kallur is a Swedish former athlete competing mainly in sprint hurdles. She has won several international medals, including the gold medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. Kallur previously held the world indoor record for the 60 metres hurdles for 16 years (2008-2024).
Franjo Mihalić was a Yugoslav and Croatian long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Mihalić competed mostly in marathons, road races and cross country races, distinguishing himself by winning many top-level international competitions in the 1950s and setting a combined 25 Croatian and later Yugoslavian national records in long-distance track events between 5000 m and 25 km. In 1957, he became the inaugural winner of the Golden Badge, the award for the best sportsperson of Yugoslavia awarded by the daily Sport. He is regarded as the most accomplished male athlete in the history of Croatian, Serbian and Yugoslav track and field.
Sport in Serbia includes football, basketball, handball, tennis, volleyball, and water polo. Professional sports in Serbia are organized by sporting federations and leagues. Serbian professional sports includes multi-sport clubs, biggest and most successful of which are Crvena Zvezda, Partizan, Radnički and Beograd in Belgrade, Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Radnički in Kragujevac, Spartak in Subotica. Serbia had successes in basketball, winning the Olympic silver medal and Nikola Jokic winning 2 NBA MVPs, as well as the 2023 NBA Championship and Finals MVP, Novak Djokovic winning a record setting 24th Grand Slam, and in handball, volleyball and water polo as well.
Sport in Croatia has significant role in Croatian culture, and many local sports clubs as well as the Croatian national squads enjoy strong followings in the country. The most enduring sport by far in Croatia is football, and is played on amateur and professional levels amongst all age groups across the entire country. Several other major team sports are handball, basketball and water polo, with clubs in all parts of Croatia. Ice hockey is another popular team sport, namely in the Croatian interior. The most popular individual sports in Croatia are tennis, alpine skiing, and swimming, and to some extent table tennis and chess. Various amateur sport games are popular in Croatia, notably picigin.
Ivana Španović is a Serbian long jumper, the 2023 World champion, a two-time World indoor champion, a two-time European champion, a three-time European indoor champion and a five-time Diamond League Trophy Winner. Considering her achievements and longevity, Ivana Španović is regarded as one of the best all-time female long jumpers, with her indoor 7.24m jump ranked 3rd in all-time records.
Amela Terzić is a Serbian middle-distance runner. She won two gold medals at 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships in Tallinn and was the junior champion at the 2012 European Cross Country Championships. She has also been a medallist in the 1500 metres at the World Junior and World Youth Championships and a gold medalist at the 2013 European U23 Championship.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal is a Norwegian middle-, long-distance and steeplechase runner. She won bronze medals for the 10,000 metres at the 2016 European Championships, and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2018 European Championships. Grøvdal earned nine individual medals at the European Cross Country Championships, an unsurpassed record by a female athlete in the meet history.
Greece (GRE) has competed at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. As of 2024 Greek athletes have won a total of 15 medals.
The 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held between 3 and 5 March 2017 at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. This was the second time this event was held in the city after the 1969 edition then known as the European Indoor Games, and the first time in more than 30 years that the competition was held in Eastern Europe. The three-day competition featured 13 men's and 13 women's athletics events and took place over two morning and three afternoon sessions.
Yemaneberhan "Yeman" Crippa is an Ethiopian-born Italian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in 2022, and bronze in the 10,000 m in 2018. Crippa claimed four medals in the age-group races at the European Cross Country Championships and a bronze in the senior race in 2019.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is a Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner. Ingebrigtsen is the current world record holder for the indoor 1500 metres and the 2000 metres, and holds the world best time over the two mile distance. Ingebrigtsen is a two-time World champion, winning gold medals in the 5000 metres in 2022 and 2023 and a four-time European champion, winning gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m in 2018 and 2022. He also won a gold medal in the 1500 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an Olympic and European record. In addition to the 1500 m, Ingebrigtsen holds European records in the mile and 5000 m, and is one of only three men to run a sub-3:30 1500 m, sub-7:30 3000 m and a sub-12:50 5000 m.
Elzan Bibić is a Serbian middle- and long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships.
Jovan Stojoski is a Serbian sprinter who represents Macedonia since 2019. Stojoski participated in the 2020 Olympic Games Tokyo.
The Balkan Masters Athletics Championships is an annual international athletics competition between masters athletes aged 35 and over from nations in the Balkans. It is typically held over two or three days in September. It features a full programme of track and field events, plus a half marathon. Organised by Balkan Masters Athletics, it was first held in 1991 and has been held every year since. The competition was the organisation's first regular championships, and was followed by a Balkan Masters Cross Country Championships in 2007 and a Balkan Masters Indoor Athletics Championships in 2015.
Nadia Battocletti is an Italian female middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal for the 5000 metres at the 2021 European Under-23 Championships. Battocletti earned four individual gold medals in the U20 and U23 age groups at the European Cross Country Championships. She is the Italian record holder for the indoor 3000 metres and 5 km road race.
The 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships took place on 18 February 2023 in Bathurst, Australia. It was the event's 44th edition and the second time after Auckland in 1988 that the championships were held in Oceania.
The 18th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 18 to 20 March 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Rahel Daniel Chebre is an Eritrean long-distance runner. She finished fifth in the 10,000 metres at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
Cole Hocker is an American middle and long-distance runner. He holds multiple national titles in annual competitions organized by USA Track & Field, including three titles in the 1500 meters and one title in the 3000 meters. In March 2024, he won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Hocker also placed sixth in the 1500 m at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and seventh at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
The 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held from 2 to 5 March 2023 at the Ataköy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, the first time the event took place in this country although the venue did stage the 2012 World Indoor Championships for which this 7000-seater was specifically built. The four-day competition was held during the centenary year of the Republic of Turkey, and featured 13 men's and 13 women's athletics events over three morning and four afternoon sessions.
