Branko Zorko

Branko Zorko (born July 1, 1967 in Hodošan) is a Croatian middle distance runner, a notable 1500 m competitor in the 1990s. Probably his biggest accomplishment is winning the first international medal for the country of Croatia, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 European Indoor Athletics Championships. His other major sports achievements include:

• 6th place at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships (3000 m)
• Bronze medal at the 1992 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
• Bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships
• Silver medal at the 1994 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
• Bronze medal at the 1994 European Championships in Athletics
• 4th place at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
• 4th place at the 2002 European Indoor Athletics Championships

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.

Zorko ran 1500 m in five Summer Olympic Games, from 1988 to 2004, making through to the semi-finals in 1992 and 1996.

On July 11, 2005 at IAAF Grand Prix Zagreb, Zorko announced his retirement from competitive running.

Personal bests

As of 2012.

Outdoors

Distance	Mark	Date	Location
1000 m	2:18.97	2000-06-17	Zagreb
1500 m	3:33.30 NR	1998-08-08	Monte Carlo
Mile	3:52.64 NR	1998-08-05	Stockholm
2000 m	4:58.02 NR	1996-07-10	Nice
3000 m	7:48.72 NR	1998-06-01	Hengelo
5000 m	13:43.04	1989-06-04	Belgrade

Indoors

Distance	Mark	Date	Location
1000 m	2:20.35 NR	1998-02-04	Erfurt
1500 m	3:38.05 NR	1997-02-02	Stuttgart
3000 m	7:49.29 NR	1990-03-07	Piraeus

External links

• IAAF profile for Branko Zorko
• Branko Zorko Biography and Statistics at sports-reference.com
• Croatian National Records - Men
• Croatian National Records - Indoors
• Krizevci.eu: Branko Zorko