Duje Draganja

Duje Draganja

Personal information
Full name	Duje Draganja
Nationality	Croatia
Born	February 27, 1983 (1983-02-27) Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	81 kg
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Stroke(s)	butterfly, freestyle
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for Croatia Olympic Games Silver 2004 Athens 50 m freestyle World Championships Silver 2005 Montreal 50 m freestyle World SC Championships Gold 2008 Manchester 50 m freestyle Gold 2006 Shanghai 50 m freestyle Bronze 2008 Manchester 100 m freestyle Bronze 2004 Indianapolis 50 m butterfly European Championships Silver 2008 Eindhoven 50 m freestyle Silver 2008 Eindhoven 4×100 m medley Silver 2006 Budapest 50 m butterfly Bronze 2006 Budapest 50 m freestyle Bronze 2002 Berlin 100 m freestyle European Short Course Swimming Championships Gold 2009 Istanbul 100 m medley Silver 2009 Istanbul 50 m freestyle Silver 2009 Istanbul 4×50 m freestyle Silver 2007 Debrecen 50 m freestyle Bronze 2008 Rijeka 50 m freestyle Bronze 2001 Antwerp 100 m freestyle Bronze 2000 Valencia 4×50 m medley

Duje Draganja (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈdujɛ ˈdraɡaɲa]; born February 27, 1983 in Split) is a swimmer from Croatia who won the silver medal in the men's 50 meter freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Draganja won a silver medal in 2005 World Aquatics Championships held in Montreal in 50 m freestyle. He has 4 medals from World Short Course Swimming Championships. In 2006 and 2008 he won a gold medal in 50 meter freestyle. Also he has bronze medal in 100 m freestyle (2008) and bronze medal in 50 m butterfly (2006).

Draganja is also a former NCAA record holder in the 100 yard freestyle, with a time of 41.49, set in 2005, while he swam for the University of California, Berkeley. He, like many other world-class, non-American swimmers, chose to spend 4 years training and competing at an American university. During his four years with Cal, Duje won 10 Pac-10 swimming titles, and eight NCAA National championships. While at Cal, he trained with the world-renown sprinting coach Mike Bottom. Bottom coached Draganja for seven years before they parted ways following the 2008 Olympics. Now Draganja trains in Zagreb with swimming club Dubrava.

He has been controversial in Croatia for his decision to take the citizenship of Qatar and continue his swimming career under the flag of that country, after receiving a very lucrative offer to do so. Croatian public opinion largely turned against Draganja at that time with the press portraying him as a villain with no respect for his homeland. Draganja accepted a Qatar passport in August 2005 claiming that he will keep his Croatian passport and will not change his religion. Draganja was raised Roman Catholic.

However, in February 2006, the swimmer made it clear that he had reversed his decision and that he will continue to compete for his country of birth, Croatia.

Personal bests

Long course

• 50 meters freestyle - 21.29 NR (Rome, July 31, 2009)
• 100 meters freestyle - 48.18 NR (Rome, July 29, 2009)
• 50 meters butterfly - 23.03 NR (Rome, July 26, 2009)
• 100 meters butterfly - 52.46 (Athens, August 20, 2004)^{[citation needed]}

Short course

• 50 meters freestyle - 20.70 NR (Istanbul, December 10, 2009)
• 100 meters freestyle - 46.64 NR (March 2004)
• 100 meters butterfly - 51.19 (Debrecen, December 13, 2007)^{[citation needed]}
• 100 metres medley - 51.20 NR (Istanbul, December 13, 2009)^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Profile at collegesports.com
• Duje Draganja: Cal swimmer a national hero in Croatia
• Croatian swimmer Draganja to swim for Qatar
• Cash lures from Qatar may lead to rewriting of rulebook
• (Croatian) Duje Draganja srebrni!
• Draganja U-turn
• 2007 Q & A with Duje Draganja

Records
Preceded by Stefan Nystrand	Men's 50 metres freestyle world record holder (short course) April 11, 2008 – September 7, 2008	Succeeded by Roland Schoeman