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Nenad Stekić

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Nenad Stekic (1976)

Nenad Stekić
Medal record
Representing  Yugoslavia
Men's athletics
European Championship
Silver medal – second place 1974 Rome Long Jump
Silver medal – second place 1978 Prague Long Jump
European Indoor Championship
Silver medal – second place 1980 Sindelfingen Long Jump
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1975 Algiers Long Jump
Gold medal – first place 1979 Split Long Jump
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1977 Sofia Long Jump
Silver medal – second place 1975 Rome Long Jump
European Junior Championship
Bronze medal – third place 1970 Paris Long Jump

Nenad Stekić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Стекић; 7 March 1951 – 18 July 2021[1]) was a Serbian and Yugoslav long jumper, best known for his European record of 8.45 metres, second only to Bob Beamon's world record at the time.

Career

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Performances in Europe

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Nenad Stekić failed on many occasions to determine himself as a major force, but during his 20-year career he won many international medals and setting several national records and one European record. He finished third at the 1970 European Junior Championships in Paris, and improved over the years, capturing his first Yugoslav title in 1972. He retained it the following year with 7.96 m jump and went on to win his first title at the Balkan Games in Athens with a wind-assisted distance of 8.12 m. In 1974 he set a new national record of 8.24 m (second best in the world that year) and retained his national and Balkan titles. Later in the year, he competed at the European Championships in Rome and was the biggest gold medal contender. There he won his first major medal when he produced a leap of 8.04 m to finish in second place, beaten by Soviet competitor Valeriy Podluzhny. Stekic had a phenomenal season in 1975, highlighted by a new European record in the long-jump on 25 July at Montreal, the second best jump of 8.45 m in the history, after Beamon's world record. That same year, he became champion at the Mediterranean Games in Algiers with a wind-aided 8.23 m and came second at the World Student Games in Rome, producing 8.13 m. In 1975 Stekić topped the year's lists for the first time in his career, making him a was strong contender for an Olympic medal in Montreal the following year, and he showed fine form when he jumped 8.39 m on 2 June at Turin prior to the Games. However, he finished 6th in the long-jump final at Montreal, with a best jump of 7.89 m.

Second European silver at Prague

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Coming from the Olympic disappointment, Stekic again had very successful season in 1977, recording his best long-jump of the year of 8.27 m to again top the rest of the world. He won the gold medal at the World Student Games at Sofia and again produced many long-jumps over 8 m, winning the Yugoslav Championships with a leap of 8.14 m. Stekic was chosen to represent Europe at the first World Cup held in Düsseldorf, but there he again showed inconsistency when he reached modest 7.79 m to place him 4th. Stekic topped the world for the third time in previous four years in 1978 when he recorded the long-jump of 8.32 m on 16 September at Rovereto. If he produced it one week earlier, he would be a European champion, but in the long-jump final at the continental Champs in Prague, Stekic managed to jump 8.12 m to earn another silver medal, 6 cm behind the gold medalist, Jaques Rousseau (France). He competed at similar level in 1979 and produced 4th best long-jump of the year when winning his fifth Balkan title at the Games in Athens. Stekic also successfully retained his Mediterranean title when winning on home soil at Split in a championship record of 8.21 m. In his preparation for the 1980 Olympic Games at Moscow, Stekic won his only medal (silver) at the European Indoor Championships at Sindelfingen and his sixth and final gold at the Balkan Games at Sofia with his season's best of 8.11 m. Sadly, Stekic injured himself in his very first jump in qualifying round at the Olympics, but continued to compete for a decade after that despite far from the form from the '70s. He finished 5th at the 1982 European Championships in Athens and had rather solid season in 1983, winning the European B Cup at Prague with 8.04 m and finishing creditable 5th at the inaugural World Championships at Helsinki with a leap of 8.09 m. He did not qualify for another Olympic final in 1984, and won his final Yugoslav title in 1985. Stekic did not compete at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart despite producing season's best of 8.19 m and then competed only sparingly until 1991. In the late '80s, Stekić amassed the most jumps over the 8 m mark (later surpassed by Larry Myricks). He is one of the most decorated athletes from former Yugoslavia.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Yugoslavia
1970 Universiade Turin, Italy 4th 7.67 m
European Junior Championships Paris, France 3rd 7.75 m
1973 Universiade Moscow, Soviet Union 9th 7.47 m
1974 European Championships Rome, Italy 2nd 8.05 m (+1.5 m/s)
1975 Universiade Rome, Italy 2nd 8.13 m
Mediterranean Games Algiers, Algeria 1st 8.23 m w
1976 Olympic Games Montreal, Canada 6th 7.89 m
1977 Universiade Sofia, Bulgaria 1st 7.97 m
1978 European Championships Prague, Czechoslovakia 2nd 8.12 m
1979 Universiade Mexico City, Mexico 5th 7.97 m
Mediterranean Games Split, Yugoslavia 1st 8.21 m CR
1980 European Indoor Championships Sindelfingen, West Germany 2nd 7.91 m
Olympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 30th 5.75 m
1982 European Championships Athens, Greece 5th 7.93 m (-0.5 m/s)
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 5th 8.09 m
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 14th 7.60 m
1986 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 12th 7.61 m
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia NM

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Preminuo Nenad Stekić, Serbian 18. 7. 2021.
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Awards
Preceded by Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Best Athlete of Yugoslavia
1975
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Mate Parlov
Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year
1975
Succeeded by
Matija Ljubek
Records
Preceded by Men's Long jump European Record Holder
25 July 1975 – 5 July 1980
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance
1975
Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's Long Jump Best Year Performance
1977–1978
Succeeded by