Borislav Dević (

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 ...

: Борислав Девић; 9 January 1963 – 8 January 2023)Tužna vest je stigla iz sidneja! Napustio nas je čuveni reprezentativac - Borislav Dević preminuo samo dan pred 60. rođendan!
was a Serbian track athlete and marathoner who specialized in various disciplines in middle-distance and long-distance races. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Running career

Dević was born in Donje Biljane, a small village in

Ravni Kotari Ravni Kotari (; ) is a geographical region in Croatia. It lies in northern Dalmatia, around Zadar and east of it. It is bordered by Bukovica to the northeast, lower Krka to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea. The largest settlement in the region ...

. Growing up in Kninska Krajina, he first specialized in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. He became one of the most competitive middle-distance track runners in all of

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

and ran at the

1987 Summer Universiade The 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members from delegations. Infrastruc ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. When Yugoslavia began to break up, he moved briefly to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, but soon took refuge in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

while his parents moved to live in the United States. Being without his parents or any close relatives in

, he was invited by

Goran Raičević Goran Raičević (Serbian Cyrillic: Горан Раичевић, June 26, 1963 – May 6, 1999) was a Serbian long-distance runner. He won three Balkan Cross Country Championships for Yugoslavia in 1990, 1992, and 1994. His son Nikola Raičević ...

and his wife Jelena to live with them. He formed a very close friendship with Raičević, and their training together lasted up to the time when Dević ran the men's marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing in 49th place of 111 finishers with a time of 2:21:22. He finished in seventh place at the 1997

Belgrade Marathon The Belgrade Marathon () is an annual marathon race held in Belgrade since 1988. It is typically held in April and also features a half marathon (including half marathon relay) and 10K run. Additionally, a fun run for the public and kids marath ...

in a time of 2:16:01. After the end of the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

, Dević moved to Australia. A Japanese movie director, who was fascinated by Dević's life story and his friendship with Raičević, planned to make a documentary about Dević's career. He died on 8 January 2023 at the age of 59. His funeral was held on 12 January in Cabramatta Serbian Orthodox Church and was buried at Liverpool Cemetery, both the funeral and burial were attended by hundreds of people including close friends, family and young athletes he had trained throughout the years following his move to Australia.

Notes

* Although Dević was of Serbian nationality, all of his results in international competition date before the

Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro (, ''Ustavna povelja Srbije i Crne Gore'') came into force on 4 February 2003, creating a confederacy between Serbia and Montenegro under one government, the State Union of Serbia and Monteneg ...

, so the country he represented in athletics is cited as

SFR SFR S.A. (or Altice France S.A. for the group) (; ) is a French telecommunications company. It is both the second-oldest mobile network operator and the second largest telecommunications company in France, after Orange. The group, Altice Fr ...

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. Some of Dević's personal best results are maintained as Serbian results by Serbia's Athletic Association's all-time best lists.

References

1963 births 2023 deaths Serbs of Croatia Serbian male middle-distance runners Serbian male long-distance runners Serbian male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Serbia and Montenegro Yugoslav male marathon runners Yugoslav male middle-distance runners Yugoslav male long-distance runners Serbia and Montenegro male athletes Serbian emigrants to Australia People from Šibenik-Knin County {{Serbia-athletics-bio-stub