Luciano Sušanj (born November 10, 1948) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n politician, sports worker and former track athlete who competed for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Sušanj was successful in international competition over 400 and 800 meters, but is best known for winning the 800 meters European title in 1974. In the 1990s Sušanj started a political career, winning a seat in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sab ...

in 1990 and 2000. In 2000 he was elected president of the

Croatian Athletics Federation The Croatian Athletics Federation ( hr, Hrvatski atletski savez) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in Croatia. It was founded in 1992 after Croatia had announced independence from the Socialist Federal Republic o ...

, and vice-president of the

Croatian Olympic Committee The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olymp ...

Athletic career

Luciano Sušanj started athletics as a junior competitor for AK Kvarner in Rijeka, his native city. In 1966 and 1967 Sušanj won a total of five medals with his club, competing over 100 meters, 400 meters, 4 × 100 meters and 400 meter hurdles in the national junior competition. In 1969 he became a Yugoslav champion over 400 meters and won the gold medal in the same event at the Balkan Games. In the early 1970s Sušanj shifted his focus from 400 meters towards 800 meters. His 800 meters breakthrough year was 1973, when he won the Yugoslav championship and the gold medal at the Balkan Games, repeating his 1969 success over 400 meters. His coach was Željko Leskovac. In the same year, Sušanj also became the 400 meters European indoor champion, winning the final on 11 March with 46.38 s, an indoor world record at the time. In his most famous race, the 800 meters final at the

1974 European Championships in Athletics The 11th European Athletics Championships of 1974 were held from 2 September to 8 September in Italy, at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Complete results were pu ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Sušanj used his speed to outsprint the opposition in the last 200 meters, and won the race by more than a second-and-a-half, beating a home crowd favorite and the reigning world record holder Marcello Fiasconaro, as well as the then-18-year-old Steve Ovett. After his surprise victory in Rome, Sušanj disappeared from the athletics scene. By that time, he was already married and a father of two, and quickly realized he would be unable to prepare for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

while working at the same time. Between athletics and supporting his family, Sušanj chose the latter. Eventually, he did compete at the Montreal Olympics, where he placed 6th in the 800 m final, clocking 1:45.75. By his account, Sušanj was not in optimal form in Montreal because he was serving the army that year. A month after the Olympics he retired from the sport, pursuing a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

diploma. Until

Blanka Vlašić Blanka Vlašić (; born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump. She is a two-time world champion and double Olympic medallist who ranks as the joint second highest female jumper of all tim ...

's high jump world title in 2007, Sušanj's 800 meters gold medal at the

was widely seen as the greatest individual achievement in the history of Croatian athletics. , his winning mark of 1:44.07 still stands as the Croatian record. In 2002, the

named Sušanj the all-time best Croatian male track and field athlete.

Political career

Until 1990, the year he entered politics, Sušanj was employed as a sports worker in Rijeka. In the first democratic election in Croatia, he obtained a seat in the

and served as an MP until 1992. In the 1990s, he served as deputy-mayor of Rijeka and president of the

Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar The Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar ( hr, Primorsko-goranski savez or PGS) is a minor Croatian liberal regionalist political party of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. They formerly had one representative in the Croatian Parliament in an alliance ...

, a regional party active in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. In 2000 Sušanj was again elected to the Croatian Parliament, and became president of the

and vice-president of the

. In 2002 he ran for the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, but lost to

Zlatko Mateša Zlatko Mateša (; born 17 June 1949) is a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 1995 to 2000. A member of the Croatian Democratic Union, Mateša is currently the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee and honorary ...

. In 2003, Sušanj left the Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar over disagreements with its president Nikola Ivaniš, and entered the newly formed Autonomous Regional Party ( hr, Autonomna regionalna stranka), of which he was a co-founder.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Susanj, Luciano 1948 births Croatian male middle-distance runners Croatian sports executives and administrators Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Croatian male sprinters Croatian sportsperson-politicians Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia Sportspeople from Rijeka Living people Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar politicians European Athletics Championships medalists Yugoslav male sprinters Yugoslav male middle-distance runners Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Mediterranean Games