The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Serbia

This page contains a list of the greatest Serbian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 21 of which were born in Serbia. This makes Serbia the birth place of the 45th most number of Athletes behind Kazakhstan, and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Serbian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Serbian 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 Serbian Athletes.

1. Vera Nikolić (1948 - 2021)

With an HPI of 47.88, Vera Nikolić is the most famous Serbian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Vera Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Вера Николић; 23 September 1948 – 28 June 2021) was a Serbian middle-distance runner, who competed at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics, and later coach. She had her best achievements in the 800 m event, in which she won European titles in 1966 and 1971 and set a world record, 2:00.5, on 20 July 1968 holding it until 11 July 1971. She came to the 1968 Olympics as a favorite, but due to the pressure of being the favorite she gave up her semifinal – after leading it for 300 m she suddenly stepped off the track, walked back to the start, sat down and took off her shoes. She set her personal best for the 800 m in the heats at 1972 Olympics before finishing fifth in the final. Nikolić received a Golden Badge of Sport, award for the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1966.

2. Zvonimir Vujin (1943 - 2019)

With an HPI of 45.80, Zvonimir Vujin is the 2nd most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Zvonimir "Zvonko" Vujin (23 July 1943 – 8 December 2019) was a Serbian amateur boxer. He competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics for Yugoslavia and won bronze medals on both occasions. In 1967 he won a silver medal at the European championships and a gold at the Mediterranean Games. He died on 8 December 2019 in his hometown, Zrenjanin.

3. Mirko Sandić (1942 - 2006)

With an HPI of 44.99, Mirko Sandić is the 3rd most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Mirko Sandić (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирко Сандић; 9 May 1942 – 24 December 2006) was a Serbian water polo player who led Yugoslav teams to a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also competed in the 1960 and 1972 Olympics where his teams placed fourth and fifth, respectively. He was given the honour to carry the national flag of Yugoslavia at the opening ceremony of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, becoming the twelfth water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Between 1958 and 1974 Sandić played more than 235 matches for the Yugoslav national team contributing 250 goals. According to his friend and FINA President Ante Lambasa, Sandic learned to swim and started playing water polo at an early age in Makarska, the birth town of his mother where he spent his summers. However, it was not until age 16 that he began playing water polo for club Partizan, a member of the second division of the Yugoslav Water Polo League. As a member of this club Sandić played more than 1000 games and won 11 Yugoslav National Championships, 7 Yugoslav Cups and 5 European Cups, in 1964, 1966, 1967, 1971 and 1975. Sandić had a degree in foreign affairs. After retiring from competitions he coached national water polo teams in Singapore (1975–1980), Malaysia (1976) and Egypt (1983–1987), while serving as a commercial manager for Jat Airways in those countries. He also worked with the state teams of New South Wales (1977) and Queensland (1978) in Australia and with the Yugoslav clubs GOC (1980–1982) and Partizan (1980–1983). In 1971 he was voted as the Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year, in 1972 received the Presidential Medal of Honor from Josip Broz Tito, and in 1997 an award from the International Olympic Committee for contribution to the Olympic movement. In 1987 he became a member of the Yugoslav National Olympic Committee, and from 1996 to 2003 served as the first president of the Serbian Water Polo Federation. In 1999, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

4. Nenad Stekić (1951 - 2021)

With an HPI of 44.60, Nenad Stekić is the 4th most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Nenad Stekić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Стекић; 7 March 1951 – 18 July 2021) 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.

5. Dragutin Topić (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 43.30, Dragutin Topić is the 5th most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Dragutin Topić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгутин Топић, born 12 March 1971) is a retired Serbian high jumper, former European champion and world junior record holder.

6. Uroš Marović (1946 - 2014)

With an HPI of 41.33, Uroš Marović is the 6th most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Uroš Marović (4 July 1946 – 23 January 2014) was a Serbian water polo player notable for winning a gold medal in Mexico City in 1968, with the Yugoslavian water polo team.

7. Ivana Španović (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 40.25, Ivana Španović is the 7th most famous Serbian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Ivana Španović (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивана Шпановић, [ǐʋana ʃpǎːnoʋit͡ɕ]; formerly Vuleta, Serbian Cyrillic: Вулета; born 10 May 1990) is a Serbian long jumper, the 2023 World champion, a two-time World indoor champion, a two-time European champion, a three-time European indoor champion and a five-time Diamond League Trophy Winner. Considering her achievements and longevity, Ivana Španović is regarded as one of the greatest female long jumpers of all time, with her indoor 7.24m jump ranked 3rd in all-time records. In 2013, Španović became the first Serbian track and field athlete to win a medal at the World Championships in Athletics. In 2018, she became the first Serbian track and field athlete to win a senior gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in Athletics. In 2023, she became the first Serbian track and field athlete to win a senior gold medal at the World Outdoor Championship in Athletics. During her 15 years long career, she successfully claimed both outdoor and indoor European and World titles. She is the Serbian record holder in the long jump, indoors and outdoors, and also she is the national indoor record holder in the 60 metres and in the pentathlon. Her coach is Goran Obradović and she is a member of the Vojvodina Athletic Club, based in Novi Sad.

8. Jasna Šekarić (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 39.98, Jasna Šekarić is the 8th most famous Serbian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jasna Šekarić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јасна Шекарић; born 17 December 1965) is a Serbian sport shooter, considered as one of the most successful female shooters in ISSF history. She has won a total of five Olympic medals: one gold, three silvers and one bronze. She has also won three World Championship gold medals in the 10 m air pistol, in addition to five European Championship gold medals she won in the 10 m air pistol and 25 m pistol. In 1992, she lost the Olympic gold medal to Marina Logvinenko despite having the same score. She is one of only six shooters (by 2012) to compete in at least seven Olympic Games.

9. Slavko Obadov (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 39.18, Slavko Obadov is the 9th most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Slavko Obadov (born 12 July 1948 in Zemun) is a Serbian former judoka who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics.

10. Filip Filipović (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 38.46, Filip Filipović is the 10th most famous Serbian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Filip Filipović (Serbian Cyrillic: Филип Филиповић; born 2 May 1987) is a Serbian professional water polo player widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and gold medals in 2016 and 2020. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He was named Most Valuable Player at the 2011 World Championships. He was also voted as the male water polo "World Player of the Year" in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2021 by the FINA magazine. He played for Pro Recco in Italy and won three LEN Champions League and three LEN Super Cup with them. Currently, he plays for Novi Beograd. Filipović was given the honour to carry the national flag of Serbia at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the 26th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

People

Pantheon has 60 people classified as Serbian athletes born between 1942 and 2005. Of these 60, 55 (91.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Serbian athletes include Dragutin Topić, Ivana Španović, and Jasna Šekarić. The most famous deceased Serbian athletes include Vera Nikolić, Zvonimir Vujin, and Mirko Sandić. As of April 2024, 39 new Serbian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Mirko Sandić, Uroš Marović, and Slavko Obadov.