Hana Basic (born 22 January 1996) is an Australian sprinter who competes in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. Basic was selected to represent Australia at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the women's 100 m event. She studied for a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

Early years

Basic was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to father Armin from

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

who ran a café and mother Zana, a lawyer from

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

. The Basic family fled to Australia just three years before she was born at the start of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. She has an older sister. Bosnian was her first language, as she only learned English in primary school. Basic started playing sport as a gymnast when she was in pre-school. When she was 9 years old her primary school Physical Education teacher saw her athletics potential and encouraged her to go to Nunawading Little Athletics. Basic went to her first nationals in the Under-10s for high jump and long jump. By the age of 14, she was already running under 12 seconds for the 100m and winning national sprint titles. Basic decided to make running her priority.

Athletics career

Basic earned a scholarship to Carey Grammar School and went to the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

and ran a personal best of 11.64 seconds for the 100 metres that year. She changed her diet and training. On 17 April 2021 she won the Australian National Championship 100 metres in a time of 11.23 seconds. Just prior to that at the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Classic she had clocked a new personal best of 11.18 to become the fourth fastest woman in Australian history. She then improved her personal best to 11.16 in July 2021 at Meeting de la Gruyere in

Bulle Bulle (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Gruyère (district), Gruyère in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (canton), Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly inde ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. She represented Australia in the 100 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she finished fifth in her heat running 11.32 seconds, so didn't advance to the semi-finals.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basic, Hana 1996 births Living people Australian female sprinters Australian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School Place of birth missing (living people) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Olympic female sprinters Australian Athletics Championships winners 21st-century Australian sportswomen