The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Icon of occuation in country

This page contains a list of the greatest Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 17 of which were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This makes Bosnia and Herzegovina the birth place of the 79th most number of Athletes behind Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes.

Photo of Zoran Janković

1. Zoran Janković (1940 - 2002)

With an HPI of 53.49, Zoran Janković is the most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Zoran Janković (8 January 1940 in Zenica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – 25 May 2002 in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia) was a Yugoslav water polo player notable for winning a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and a gold medal in Mexico City in 1968, with the Yugoslavian men's water polo team. In his career, he played for the Mladost from Zagreb and Partizan from Belgrade.He also played one season as coach/player for Red Star Belgrade in the late 70s.

Photo of Jasna Kolar-Merdan

2. Jasna Kolar-Merdan (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 50.00, Jasna Kolar-Merdan is the 2nd most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Jasna Kolar-Merdan (born 19 October 1956 in Mostar) is a former Bosnian and Yugoslav handball player who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics, in the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1980 she won the silver medal with the Yugoslav team. She played all five matches and scored nine goals. Four years later she won the gold medal as member of the Yugoslav team. She played all five matches and scored 48 goals. She was the top scorer of the tournament. She was voted World Handball Player of 1990 by the International Handball Federation. In 1992 she was part of the Austrian team which finished fifth in the Olympic tournament. She played all four matches and scored 23 goals.

Photo of Amel Tuka

3. Amel Tuka (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 44.40, Amel Tuka is the 3rd most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Amel Tuka (born 9 January 1991) is a Bosnian middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. His achievements include a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships as well as a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships. Tuka holds national records in the 400 m and 800 m disciplines. On 17 July 2015, with a time of 1:42.51, Tuka positioned himself as the world leader in the men's 800 metres for the year 2015. He subsequently earned his country's first medal in a major athletics championship with his third-place finish in the men's 800 metres at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics. He earned his second medal at the World Championships in 2019, finishing second in the men's 800 metres.

Photo of Hamza Alić

4. Hamza Alić (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 41.27, Hamza Alić is the 4th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Hamza Alić (born 20 January 1979) is a Bosnian shot putter. On 1 March 2013, at 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships, he won a silver medal which he dedicated to all the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to coincide with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Independence Day. His personal best throw is 21.07 m (69 ft 1+1⁄2 in), achieved in April 2008 in Podgorica.

Photo of Carlos Ortiz

5. Carlos Ortiz (b. )

With an HPI of 39.84, Carlos Ortiz is the 5th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into 6 different languages.

Carlos Ortíz may refer to: Carlos Ortiz (boxer) (1936–2022), Puerto Rican boxer Carlos Escobar Ortiz (born 1989), Chilean footballer Carlos Ortiz (wrestler) (born 1974), retired wrestler from Cuba Carlos Arias Ortiz, Mexican biochemist Carlos Ortiz (golfer) (born 1991), Mexican golfer Carlos Javier Ortiz (born 1977), American documentary photographer Carlos Vieco Ortiz (1900–1979), Colombian musician and composer

Photo of Meliha İsmailoğlu

6. Meliha İsmailoğlu (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 38.77, Meliha İsmailoğlu is the 6th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Meliha İsmailoğlu Diken (born Meliha Smajlović, 17 September 1993 in Gradačac) is a Bosnian-Turkish volleyball player. She is 190 cm (6.2 ft) tall at 73 kg (161 lb). Currently, she plays for Fenerbahçe. İsmailoğlu is a member of the Turkey women's national volleyball team.

Photo of Bojan Tokić

7. Bojan Tokić (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 36.93, Bojan Tokić is the 7th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Bojan Tokić (born 13 January 1981) is a Slovenian table tennis player.

Photo of Ana Šimić

8. Ana Šimić (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 34.90, Ana Šimić is the 8th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Ana Šimić (born 5 May 1990) is a Croatian athlete who competes in the high jump. She competed at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. Her personal best is 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in), set in August 2014 at the European Athletics Championships in Zürich.

Photo of Wiktor Głazunow

9. Wiktor Głazunow (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 30.85, Wiktor Głazunow is the 9th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 7 different languages.

Wiktor Głazunow (born 24 October 1993) is a Polish sprint canoeist. He competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, in the men's C-2 1000 metres and C-1 1000 metres events, respectively.

Photo of Mesud Pezer

10. Mesud Pezer (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 28.98, Mesud Pezer is the 10th most famous Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Mesud Pezer (born 27 August 1994) is a Bosnian shot putter. Pezer holds both national records in the shot put discipline. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics without qualifying for the final, and the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he reached the final and placed 11th overall. His personal bests in the event are 21.48 m (70 ft 5+1⁄2 in) outdoors (Växjö 2019) and 21.15 m (69 ft 4+1⁄2 in) indoors (Birmingham 2018).

People

Pantheon has 17 people classified as Bosnian, Herzegovinian athletes born between 1940 and 2001. Of these 17, 16 (94.12%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Bosnian, Herzegovinian athletes include Jasna Kolar-Merdan, Amel Tuka, and Hamza Alić. The most famous deceased Bosnian, Herzegovinian athletes include Zoran Janković. As of April 2024, 13 new Bosnian, Herzegovinian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Jasna Kolar-Merdan, Carlos Ortiz, and Meliha İsmailoğlu.

Living Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Deceased Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Newly Added Bosnian, Herzegovinian Athletes (2024)

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous