Miljenko Rak (born 20 September 1947) is a Croatian former long-jumper and fitness trainer. He had worked as the trainer with Olympic gold medal-winning skier, Janica Kostelić, and football manager, Slaven Bilić. He is currently fitness coach in

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinam ...

and the Croatia men's national handball team. Rak was the fitness coach for the Croatia national handball team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

. Having studied for a degree is physical education at University of Novi Sad, competing for

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, as a long-jumper he took part in the 1967 Mediterranean Games in Tunis winning the gold medal with a jump of . Four years later in the

1971 Mediterranean Games The 1971 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VI Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Izmir 1971, were the 6th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in İzmir, Turkey, from 6 to 17 October 1971, where 1,362 athletes (1,235 men a ...

he won the silver medal with a jump of , and in the

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September 1979, where 2,408 athletes (2,00 ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

he won the bronze medal with a jump of . Rak worked as a coach in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

training athletes such as 800-metre runner

Slobodanka Čolović Slobodanka Čolović-Maričić (born 10 January 1965 in Čepin) is a retired Yugoslavian middle-distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres. She represented Yugoslavia at the 1988 Summer Olympics finishing fourth, as well as one outdoor a ...

and long-jumper Siniša Ergotić. Rak started as a footballing fitness coach with

, after that he joined Slaven Bilić with the

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a ...

. He followed Bilić to work with Lokomotiv Moscow,

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

. He left West Ham along with Bilić's other coaching staff when the manager was sacked on 6 November 2017. In 2020, Rak joined the Croatia national handball team as the fitness coach again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rak, Miljenko Living people 1947 births Croatian male long jumpers Croatian sports coaches West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Croatian expatriate sportspeople in England University of Novi Sad alumni Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Mediterranean Games Yugoslavian Athletics Championships winners