Danijela Grgic of Croatia during the women's 400m semi-final (© Getty Images)
Croatian 400m runner Danijela Grgic is making a habit of hitting top form when it matters most – a quality which will put her in good-stead for the future.
On a warm summer night in Marrakesh last year at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Grgic had to settle for the silver medal behind Sudan’s Nawal El Jack, but the Croatian set a big PB of 51.30 in doing so.
Before Beijing, Grgic had competed at the IAAF World Indoor Championships – where she set an indoor PB of 52.00 when finishing fourth in the semi-final – and at the European Championships just one week prior, yet had not improved on her best time from 2005.
Grgic, however, timed her season’s peak to perfection, saving it for a gold medal-winning performance she will not easily forget.
Yesterday’s 400m final saw Grgic line up alongside El Jack and Jamaica’s Sonita Sutherland who, heading into these championships, was the fastest junior in the world.
Not wanting to let the Jamaican get away, Grgic set out at a lightening pace and moved onto the shoulder of Sutherland as she entered the home-straight. To the surprise of most of the spectators, Grgic had enough left in the final 100m to win the gold medal, smashing her personal best in the process with a 50.78 clocking.
“It is a huge surprise to me that I ran so fast,” said Grgic, whose time was a Croatian senior record, breaking Jelica Pevlicic’s 50.98 which had stood since 1974 and was a World best at the time. “I was expecting it to be quick, but not as much as this!
“I started very fast, but felt smooth for the first 300m. The last 100m was very tough, but when I passed Sonita I knew that I had done enough to win. I was not too worried about Nawal El Jack – I knew that Sonita would be the bigger threat.”
Her performance puts her in the top-ten junior 400m athletes of all-time and makes her the fastest European junior athlete since Grit Breuer in 1991.
“After such a long season, I have surprised myself that I managed to peak for the World Junior Championships,” said Grgic, who exited the European Championships at the semi-finals stage.
At just 17 years of age, she will still be a junior next year and has one very clear goal for the 2007 season. “I’m very much looking forward to the European Junior Championships next year,” she says.
“It’s difficult to say what I can go on to achieve in future – I’m just going to keep working hard so that I can become a better athlete.”
Her coach, Mladen Katalinic, was a proud onlooker and said: “I have coached several European junior champions in the past – including Kristina Perica in 1997 and Ljiljana Culibrk in 2001 – but Danijela is by far the best athlete I have ever coached.”
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
