Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Croatian |
Born | Ludbreg, Croatia | 22 June 1995
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | Croatia |
Sport | Track and field |
Event | Javelin throw |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal bests | NR 68.43 (2017) |
Medal record |
Sara Kolak (born 22 June 1995) is a Croatian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is an Olympic champion and won the gold medal in the javelin throw event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[1] Kolak is also a European Championships bronze medallist and European U23 champion. She holds the Croatian record with a personal best throw of 68.43 m, set in 2017. It also ranks her tenth on the world all-time list. Kolak is a three-time Olympian and competed at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Career
Kolak made her junior international debut at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona. She won bronze medals at the 2013 European Junior Championships in Rieti and 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene.[2][3][4] Kolak made her senior international debut at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich. That same year, she underwent surgery for a shoulder injury and was sidelined for 15 months.[5] She won the bronze medal in the javelin throw at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam.[2]
Kolak won the gold medal in the women's javelin throw event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, where she also set a new national record with a throw of 66.18 metres.[5] She bested her record the following year with a 68.43 m throw at Athletissima in Lausanne.[6] She won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 2017 European U23 Championship in Bydgoszcz and placed fourth in the javelin throw at the 2017 World Championships in London.
Following the 2017 World Championships, Kolak struggled with an elbow injury. The Croatian Olympic Committee approved a $150,000 funding for her surgery,[7] which was carried out in Minnesota. After the surgery, she underwent rehabilitation of the ligaments and returned to competition in the summer of 2019,[7] placing seventh at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. In August 2019, she relocated from Slovenia to Norway in order to be coached by two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen.[8] Kolak competed in the javelin throw event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but failed to qualify for the final.[9] She placed eleventh at the 2024 European Championships in Rome and fourth in the javelin throw event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[10]
International competitions
Awards
References
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sara Kolak". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Kolak stuns them all with javelin gold". European Athletics. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Landells, Steve (5 January 2017). "Beating injury woes paves Kolak's unlikely road to Rio gold". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Profile of Sara KOLAK | All-Athletics.com". Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Rio Olympics 2016: Croatia's Sara Kolak wins gold in women's javelin". BBC Sport. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Wayde van Niekerk sets world-leading 400-meter time of 43.62". Sports Illustrated. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ a b "HOO plaća troškove operacije Sare Kolak i Sandra Sukna, evo i iznosa". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ Landells, Steve (27 August 2020). "Kolak on Olympic title defence: 'I will be ready'". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Athletics-Disastrous end for Kolak as Andrejczyk, Barber advance in women's javelin". Reuters. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Tennery, Amy (10 August 2024). "Japan's Kitaguchi secures javelin gold with opening throw". Reuters. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ Vijesti: Dodijeljena odlikovanja izraz su priznanja i zahvalnosti za rad i doprinos razvoju i napretku Republike Hrvatske(in Croatian)
External links
- Sara Kolak at World Athletics
- Sara Kolak at European Athletics (archive)
- Sara Kolak at Olympedia (archive)
- Sara Kolak at Olympics.com
- Sara Kolak at Olympic.org (archived)
- Sara Kolak at the Croatian Olympic Committee (in Croatian) (archived, also available in English)
- 1995 births
- Living people
- People from Ludbreg
- Sportspeople from Rijeka
- Croatian female javelin throwers
- Olympic athletes for Croatia
- Olympic gold medalists for Croatia
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- European Athletics Championships medalists
- Olympic female javelin throwers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- 21st-century Croatian women
- 21st-century Croatian people
- European Games competitors for Croatia
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 European Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics