Branko Zorko

Last updated
Branko Zorko
Personal information
Nationality Croatian
Born (1967-07-01) 1 July 1967 (age 57)
Hodošan, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Sport
Sport Track
Event(s) 1500 metres, mile
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 1500m : 3:33.30 [1]
Mile : 3:52.64 [1]
3000m : 7:48.72 [1]
5000m : 13:43.04 [1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1993 Toronto 1500 m
European Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1994 Helsinki 1500 m
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1994 Paris 1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1990 Glasgow 3000 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Genoa 1500 m

Branko Zorko (born 1 July 1967) is a Croatian retired middle distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. Zorko competed in the 1500 metres in five Olympic Games, from 1988 to 2004, making it through to the semi-finals in 1992 and 1996. He won bronze medals at the 1993 World Indoor Championships in Toronto and the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki. In 1992 he was awarded the Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport. He was born in Hodošan.

Contents

Running career

Early career

On November 20, 1984, Zorko ran his first ever race, which he won on a cross country course at the age of 17. [2] Less than a year into training, he posted a time of 8:30 for 3000 meters and won a competitive high school race called Kros Sportskih Novosti. [2] He declined offers to train with AK Crvena Zvezda and instead remained in Križevci, where he did intervals on a track only once a week. [2] The rest of his training took place on forest trails, where Zorko alleged that bystanders would ask him why he was running and tell him to "take a hoe and dig out some corn". [2]

International

At his first major international competition, Zorko finished sixth in the men's 3000 metres race at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships. In 1990, he won his first major medal, winning bronze at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Zorko began specializing in middle-distance disciplines, and eventually found his talent in the 1500 metres. In 1992, Zorko won the first international medal for the newly independent Croatia, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 European Indoor Athletics Championships. A year later he won the bronze medal for the men's 1500 metres at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing only 0.39 seconds behind winner Marcus O'Sullivan. Next year, Zorko finished second in the 1500 at the 1994 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and third at the 1994 European Championships in Athletics.

At the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships and at the 2002 European Indoor Athletics Championships, he finished in fourth place in the respective 1500 metre races.

Pacemaking

By the late 1990s, Zorko was increasingly suffering from injuries, which prompted him to turn to professional pacemaking. As a pacemaker, he assisted in setting several world records, both indoors and outdoors, most notably for Haile Gebrselassie. On July 11, 2005, Zorko announced his retirement at the IAAF Grand Prix Zagreb.

Personal bests

As of 2012.

Outdoors

DistanceMarkDateLocation
1000 m2:18.972000-06-17 Zagreb
1500 m3:33.30 NR1998-08-08 Monte Carlo
Mile3:52.64 NR1998-08-05 Stockholm
2000 m4:58.02 NR1996-07-10 Nice
3000 m7:48.72 NR1998-06-01 Hengelo
5000 m13:43.041989-06-04 Belgrade

Indoors

DistanceMarkDateLocation
1000 m2:20.35 NR1998-02-04 Erfurt
1500 m3:38.05 NR1997-02-02 Stuttgart
3000 m7:49.29 NR1990-03-07 Piraeus

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia
1987 Universiade Zagreb, Yugoslavia 7th1500 m 3:46.46
1988 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 7th1500 m 3:47.69
Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 36th (h)1500 m 3:45.52
1989 European Indoor Championships The Hague, Netherlands 5th3000 m 7:54.16
World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 6th3000 m 7:52.26
Universiade Duisburg, West Germany 14th (h)1500 m 3:48.42
1990 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd3000 m 7:54.77
European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 14th (h)1500 m 3:40.86
Representing Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
1992 European Indoor Championships Genoa, Italy 3rd1500 m 3:42.85
Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 18th (sf)1500 m 3:39.71
1993 World Indoor Championships Toronto, Canada 3rd1500 m 3:45.39
World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 21st (sf)1500 m 3:43.12
1994 European Indoor Championships Paris, France 2nd1500 m 3:44.64
European Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd1500 m 3:36.88
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 36th (h)1500 m 3:48.83
1996 European Indoor Championships Stockholm, Sweden 5th1500 m 3:46.82
Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 9th (sf)1500 m 3:35.14
1997 World Indoor Championships Paris, France 4th1500 m 3:39.25
Mediterranean Games Bari, Italy 2nd1500 m 3:45.17
World Championships Athens, Greece 19th (sf)1500 m 3:41.63
1998 European Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 6th1500 m 3:45.83
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 10th1500 m 3:43.95
1999 Military World Games Zagreb, Croatia 3rd1500 m3:41.06
2000 European Indoor Championships Ghent, Belgium 10th (h)1500 m 3:42.92
Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 36th (h)1500 m 3:46.16
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon, Portugal 9th (h)1500 m 3:39.55
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 4th1500 m 3:50.66
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 31st (h)1500 m 3:48.28

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 IAAF. "Athlete profile for Branko Zorko".
  2. 1 2 3 4 Vedran Božičević (April 20, 2018). "Jutarnji List - Sportske novosti: LEGENDARNI HRVATSKI ATLETIČAR BRANKO ZORKO" (in Croatian). Retrieved October 25, 2018.
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