National Marathon Championships from 1930 in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Until 2010 in the Republic of Serbia

Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Vesna Repić Ćujić 1 796.422.16.093(497.11) Irina Juhas2 Original scientiﬁ c paper

1 Serbian Institute for Sports and Sports Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia 2 University of Belgrade, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Belgrade, Serbia

NATIONAL MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM 1930 IN THE KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA UNTIL 2010 IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Abstract The worldwide appearance of marathon, as athletic discipline, resulted in organizing of National Championships as well. In the majority of countries, they occurred between the two world wars, same applying to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The goal of this research was to ﬁ nd, gather, reconstruct and critically analyse the data about national championships from 1930 to 2010. With regard to the time frame, depending on historical events, it was divided into following periods: 1. from the 1st National Championship in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1930 to 1939; 2. from the National Championship of DFY in 1949 to 1990; 3. from 1992 to 2003, when Serbia and Montenegro ceased to exist; 4. from 2003 to 2010. The ﬁ rst data mentioning national championship goes back to 1930. The idea, according to the found information, was initiated by the marathon runner Dimitrije Stefanovic. During the period from 1930 to the beginning of the World War II, ten marathon championships had been held, one of which took place in Belgrade. There were only few competitors, which was also common for the national championships of other countries. During the period from 1949 to 1991, marathon was mainly organized within the national championships together with other disciplines, and after that, it became part of mass marathons. The analysis of quality and quantity of marathon national championships showed a great diversity. The results and number of competitors participating in marathons as part of the national championships were affected by: politics, the way of organizing marathon races, important events’ dates, and later on prize money paid by the organizers of mass marathons. Key words: ATHLETICS / MARATHON / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

INTRODUCTION

The worldwide appearance of marathon, as where there were already competitions in other ath- athletic discipline, resulted in organizing of National letic disciplines. Championships as well. In most countries, their oc- Marathon Championship were developed currence was between the two world wars, as it was in from races whose length was about 40km (length the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The continuity of these of the marathon route and their measurement was contests may not be mentioned until 1908, because it not uniform), or from the competition on shorter did not exist. In most countries before 1918., athletic distances (20 km or more). Neither the establishment organizations at the state level did not exist. National of the International Amateur Athletic Federation championships in marathon were mainly organized (IAAF) 1912. had any signiﬁ cant impact on the by the countries where athletics was developed, or number of states in which national championships

48 Correspondence to: Irina Juhas, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Blagoja Parovića 156, Belgrade, Serbia, e-mail: [email protected] Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60 in this discipline were organized. Maintaining the depending on the historical events, can be divided continuity of national marathon championships into four periods: infl uenced international competitions, the number 1. from the fi rst state championship in the of athletes who practiced this discipline, politics, Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1930 until 1939; economic conditions, wars. There were examples that 2. from the state championship DFJ 1949 until regional marathon championship were organized, but 1991, nationally they did not exist (in Australia, although 3. since 1992 to the dissolution of Serbia and there was a „Australasian Athletic Union,” only one Montenegro; region organized competitions however no national 4. since 2006 to 2010. championship was held). There is also evidence that the national championships were organized only during the period before the First World War, and the RESULTS AND DISCUSSION interruption lasted to the end of the Second World War. In Norway, national marathon championships were organized in in the period from 1897 to 1901, and The fi rst data mentioning the national mara- after that only after 1950. During the period between thon championship date back in 1930. According to the 1919 and 1945, a crucial growth in number of the daily “Politika”, Belgrade was scheduled to host national competitions occurred around 1927. In the the fi rst marathon competition of the Kingdom of Yu- Olympic years, no larger shifts in number of organized goslavia on 13 July1930, and the organizers were to competitions were recorded. The beginning of the be “Track and Field Committee” and the sport club global crisis caused a slight decrease in the number “Soko”. The idea was launched, according to the ob- of organized national championships, while the tained data, by Dimitrije Stefanovic. Thanks to his direct impact of the termination of the contest was knowledge about the discipline, his experience as a the start of the Second World War. During the First participant in the Vienna Marathon 1927, the 1928 World War in Denmark, Hungary, Sweden and the Olympics, his offi ce held in the Sports Club, Soko, United States there was no interruption in organizing Belgrade Track and Field Committee and Yugoslav the championships, likewise during the World War Track and Field Committee, he designed all the II. In certain periods, and in some years, continuity events related to the upcoming championship. was maintained by organizing a marathon race over Realizing the seriousness of the effort, which shorter distances (30 - 38km, e.g. France). was placed to the participants, preparatory races In the Kingdom of Serbia, since the origin of were organized, such as the race “International race marathon by the end of the First World War, two races through Belgrade”, and their schedule was published were held on the shorter distances and one marathon, as election race for the 1912Olympic Games, which in the press. ,,As we have previously reported on St. was not considered the national championship. The Vitus Day major international 25-km race will be aim of this study was to identify, collect, restore held in Belgrade, modelled after similar games in and critically analyze data about national marathon Berlin, Paris, London, New York and so on.”. For this championships in the period 1930-2010 in the former competition, detailed propositions were published in Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia nowadays. the magazine “Vreme” 01 June 1930, page 6. Choos- ing the date of 28th June was a good marketing move. Great interest for the competition was aroused, not only in Belgrade and throughout the Kingdom, but METHOD abroad as well. The number of registered athletes was above all expectations. Interestingly, foreign runners For the purpose of this research historical, had special fi nancial requirements for participation in causal and descriptive method were applied. Data marathon and since they could not be met, some of were collected about all marathon championships the competitors were absent. For the fi rst time stop- and the reconstruction of the marathon race were per- watch was used, as evidenced by the writing of the formed, to the possible extent. The observed period, results (4/5). It is interesting that they four categories were predicted in order to involve more runners.

49 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Payment of the start fees amounting to 20 dinars was propositions for the 25km race. The competition was mentioned for the fi rst time. announced as Yugoslav Marathon on the track 42 km long and 200 m with the following Propositions: Table 1. Ranking in the 25-km race, Belgrade 28 1. Running is international and is held according June 1930 to the rules and with the permission of local government units. Pl. COMPETITOR Results 2. Start is located near Kalemegdan and the track leads through Knez Mihajlova, Terazije, King 1. Simović (Soko, Beograd) 1:40:03 4/5 Milan, Milos the Great, Topčiderski road, road to Umka and back to the cafe „Mostar“ 2. Mizerovski Jaroslav (A. F. K., Kolin) 1:43:10 4/5 and Vajfertova street, next to a colony of the 3. Simić (Beograd) 1:54:12 Ministry of Transport to the BSK playing fi eld, where the fi nish will be. In case this track 4. Đorđević (Jugoslavija, Beograd) NT* could not be used due to technical failure, alternatively Avala road shall be used with the 5. Puškarić (Jugoslavija, Beograd) NT fi nish at the fi eld of „Yugoslavia“ 6. Belas Vjekoslav (Maraton, Zagreb) NT 3. Application fee is RSD 20 per person. 4. Applications should be sent to: Dim. 7. Žinić (Niš) NT Stefanovic, „Radio“ A.D. Belgrade, Academy of Sciences no later than July, 6th 1930. 8. Gombar (Niš) NT 5. Running is held by the following categories A. Seniors; B. Newcomers, C. Soldiers; D. 9. Maksimović (Beograd) NT Runners who do not belong to any club. 10. Švitki (Beograd) NT 6. First Yugoslav to arrive at the fi nish shall get the title „The state champion of marathon Stefanović Dimitrije (Soko, Beograd) DNF** running for the year 1930”. 7. Prizes: winners receive honorary gifts. Šporn Stanislav (Ilirija, Ljubljana) DNF 8. The runners who have not run a marathon Kisač (Beograd) DNF before will be examined by a doctor before start. Upon the fi rst call of doctors they are Čolić (Beograd) DNF obliged to give up the contest. 9. No leading of runners by any vehicle is allowed Nikolić S. (Beograd) DNF (Yugoslav marathon, Politika, 6/15/1930, 7939, 12). Nikolić V. (Beograd) DNF

Ognjanović (Beograd) DNF Despite these preparations and attractive routes, Yugoslav Championship was held in Zagreb Stojanović (Beograd) DNF on 13 July 1930 with only three runners. The reason why marathon was not held in Belgrade, as it was *Not time ** Did not ﬁ nish originally prepared, was found in an interview of a reporter of the magazine “Vreme” with Miroslav Do- Magazine „Vreme” released the proposi- brin, ofﬁ cial Yugoslav Track and Field Union (JLS). th, tions – i.e., a notice that on July 13 a 42.2-km race The remark by a journalist that “shortly before, mara- would be organized race and that the applications thon was thought to be in Belgrade, Mr Dobrin said for participation would be collected by Dimitrije Ste- that these were the things that could not be taken into fanovic (Track and Field. The First Yugoslav Mara- account. (Our team went to Athens yesterday, Vreme, thon, Vreme, 13 June 1930, 3036, 8). The marathon 03.10.1930, 3148, 8). He then explained why Simov- propositions for the national championship were very ic, although he was better than the winner of the Ma- detailed and included everything required for the sarik Marathon,Czech Mizerovski, in Belgrade race, race today. It was slightly enlarged compared to the due to non-participation in Zagreb marathon, was

50 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60 not included in the national team. The JLS decisions organized in Croatia (6), followed by Slovenia (3), to change the venue of the championship had very and only one in Serbia (Belgrade). Competitors from negative impact on the further development of Mara- Serbia took part at ﬁ ve championships. Since that thon, both in Serbia and in the Kingdom of Yugosla- was the period when the state did not cherished supe- via. And in the next two years clubs from Serbia did rior results and recorders, the performance was also not have representatives in the longest athletic event. moderate. Technically, the races were very poorly organized. A small number of competitors competed, as it was common at the state championships of other National Marathon Championships in countries. the Kingdom of Yugoslavia since 1930. to 1939. During that period there were ten marathon championships (Table 2). Most competitions were

Table 2. Data on state marathon championships in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the period since 1930 to 1939.

The result Number of Number of Number of Result of The best of the best Date City competitors competitors competitors winner result Serbian ﬁ nished from Serbia comp.

13.07.1930. Zagreb 3 3 0 3:08:47 - - 19.07.1931. Zagreb 4 2 0 4:34:45 - - 10.07.1932. Zagreb 5 2 0 3:21:05 - - 09.07.1933. Zagreb 7 4 0 3:30:35 - DNF 02.07.1934. Zagreb 5 3 0 2:59:00 - - 14.07.1935. Ljubljana 6 3+1vk 0 3:05:43,2 - - 05.07.1936. Varaždin 6 3 2 3:17:55 2 3:22:25 02.07.1937. Ljubljana 5 5 1 3:20:13 6 NT 26.06.1938. Beograd 18 14 2 3:28:25 6 NT 19.07.1939. Ljubljana 8 5 0 3:39:30 - DNF

The fi rst Serbian representative in the state Nušić participated again in the 1936 marathon cham- championship held in Zagreb on 9th July 1933 was pionship in Varazdin. and this time he was much Stevan Nušić, athlete of the Sports Club “Yugosla- more successful and took the second place (Table via” from Belgrade, who later participated in the 3). This competition, was reported in the magazine 1936 Berlin Olympics (not in the marathon), who, “Vreme” in the article “Three new Yugoslav records probably because of inadequate preparation, inexpe- at Track and Field National championship in Varaz- rience, abandoned the race. din” (Šporn arrived fi rst at the marathon race in Lju- Another two state marathon championships (in bljana, Vreme, 1935, 16.07, 4851, 9). A month later Zagreb and Ljubljana) passed without competitors Stane Šporn, although he had no placement in the from Serbia. In 1934 “Politika” . recorded only rank- state championship and was injured, ran marathon as ing of the two fi rst competitors and that Šporn gained a member of the national team of the Kingdom of national title. (The fi rst part of the Track and Field Yugoslavia at Berlin Olympic Games. championship, Politika, 2/7/1934, 9382, 12). Stevan

51 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Table 3. Ranking in the national championship at Finally in 1938. the capital of the Kingdom of the marathon in Varazdin 5 July 1936. Yugoslavia hosted the National marathon champi- Pl. COMPETITOR Result onship. Preparation for the marathon was similar to the preparations for the 1930 national championship. 1. Belas Vjekoslav (Maraton, Zagreb) 3:17:55 This time Dimitrije Stefanovic was also involved in 2. Nušić Stevan (Jugoslavija, Beograd) 3:22:25 the organization. „Politika” (Propositions for marathon preparation for the Balkan Championship in 3. Starman Ivan (Železničar, Maribor) NT Belgrade, Politika, 1938, 06.05, 10 753, 15) pub- Kvas Jakob (Ilirija, Ljubljana) DNF lished detailed information about Belgrade Track and Field subassociation (BLAP), organized for the pur- Vidović Đorđe (Konkordia, Zagreb) DNF pose of preparing for the big marathon run (State and Šporn Stanislav DNF Balkan championship) series of contests ... “ In order (Jugoslavija, Beograd) to attract more participants and popularize marathon The next national marathon championship the BLAP predicted multiple categories for the pre- was within the competition for the cup High patron liminary competition. The opportunity to participate of His Majesty King Peter II. It was the competition was given to novice, junior athletes, runners who between athletic teams subordinated to organizations were not in athletic clubs, members of the military of the Yugoslav Athletic Associations from Belgrade, and “members of the provincial clubs.” Categories, Zagreb and Ljubljana. Marathon was held on the last provided for the competition are very similar to the day of the three-day competition. The organization categories that appear in today’s mass marathons. was detailed in the report of the Fourth Army Com- Signifi cant change from the previous races was or- mand as follows: „The Army has allowed fi rst class ganizing an open competition – in which foreign- marathon performance, as the entire track was cov- ers could participate, but they did not count in the ered by telephone lines with 5 stations and the run- ranking for the National Championship. In order to ners were followed by bikers from start to fi nish.” attract more spectators, the race was scheduled on Belgrade Representative Borisavljević (unknown the great Orthodox holiday and time was aligned fi rst name) managed to reach the fi nish, but no result with important international football matches. The was recorded (Table 4). most interesting question was who would take part in the competition, and how many domestic and for- Table 4. Ranking in the national championship in Ljubljana marathon 4 July 1937 eign runners would participate. What distinguished it from the previous marathons was: the number of Pl. Competitor Result competitors (18 runners started), the existence of Tavčar Slavo more than one category, international character (three 1. 3:20:12 2/5 (Primorje, Ljubljana) Hungarian runners), awards and advertising. Again, Jančar Stanko (Litija, Litija) 3:26:50 2/5 VK* it was shown that there were no Serbian runners who would be able to fi ght for the top three positions in Vidović Đorđe (Konkordia, 2. 3:31:34 Zagreb) the championship. The top-ranked runner from this region was the Nemanja Odanović (SSU from Som- Belas Vjekoslav (Maraton, 3. 3:45:58 bor), who took sixth place (Table 5). Zagreb) Perc Stanislav 4. 4:07:32 2/5 (Primorje, Ljubljana) 5. Borisavljević (Beograd) NT

*outside competition

52 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Table 5. Ranking on the opened national marathon Table 6. Ranking in the national marathon championship in Belgrade 26 June 1938 championship in Ljubljana 17 July 1939 Pl. COMPETITOR Result Pl. COMPETITOR Result Krajcar Franjo 1. Gales Stjepan (Konkordia, Zagreb) 3:39:30 1 3:28:25 (Konkordia, Zagreb) 2. Krajcar Franjo (Konkordia, Zagreb) 3:44:28 Belas Vjekoslav 3. Kvas Jakob (Ilirija, Ljubljana) 3:47:26 2 3:31:23 (Maraton, Zagreb) 4. Vidović Đorđe (Konkordia, Zagreb) NT Vidović Đorđe 3 3:40:20 5. Jančar Stanko (Litija, Litija) NT (Konkordia, Zagreb) Odanović Nemanja (SSU, Sombor) DNF 4 Knez Rudolf (Amater, Trbovlje) NT Benedičič Mirko DNF 5 Poslek Franjo (Maraton, Zagreb) NT (Gregorčič, Jesenice) Knez Rudolf (Amater, Trbovlje) DNF 6 Odanović Nemanja (SSU, Sombor) NT 7 Starman Ivan (Hermes, Ljubljana) NT National Marathon Championships in the period from 1949 to 1991 Šporn Stanislav DNF (SK Jugoslavija, Beograd) Revival of national marathon championships in the post-war Yugoslavia began with the race in Vild Hugo (PSK, Pančevo) DNF Belgrade on September, 4th 1949, although Cham- Tavčar Slavo (PRI) DNF pionships in Athletics were re-established in 1946. The National Marathon Championships were not Jančar Stanko (Litija, Litija) DNF held in 1951, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963 and 1965. It Kiš (Mađarska) DNF VK is most likely that the quality and small number of participants resulted in omission of marathon from Kevago (Mađarska) DNF VK the programme of athletic competitions. During this Lovas (Mađarska) DNF VK time the marathon was organized within the national championships along with other disciplines, and Another representative Stane Šporn, one of the aside from walking or combined events. best marathon runners of that period, failed to fi n- The level of technical organization was very ish the race. Those who studied statistics of athletics simplifi ed and marathon reduced to an athletic discipline, of no great signifi cance, because no records refer Šporn to old club of „Illyria” from Ljubljana. were kept. Those competitions were aimed mainly at However, at the end of 1935 he moved to Belgrade choosing the best runner in the state and / or at quali- Sports club „Yugoslavia”. A small number of partici- fying for the national team. pants from Serbia can be explained by „less devel- Out of thirty seven marathon championships, oped” athletics, especially long distances running. organized in Yugoslavia, twelve were held in Serbia Ranking in the race showed how Serbian athletes (33%). The hosts of the competitions were: Belgrade lagged behind the quality of the competitors from (4), Subotica (2), Kragujevac, Kosovo Polje, Pristina, Slovenia and Croatia Odžaci, Novi Sad and Zasavica. Athletes from Serbia The following year, organization of the cham- took part in thirty-six national championships. They pionship was vested to Slovenes. The only represen- did not participate in the last competition 1991 for se- tative of Serbia was Nemanja Odanović again, but curity reasons, because it was held in Croatian village failed to reach the fi nish (Table 6). Track keepers Lipik. The most massive national championship, by were wrong for nearly eight kilometers, and the ath- the number of runners who started, was in Belgrade letes had run around 50km. This was the last mara- in 1981. Most contestants from Serbia participated thon championship in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in this competition.. However, mass participation before the Second World War. was not always a refl ection of quality. Of all the contestants from Serbia during the period from 1949 to 1991, who performed at the marathon state champi-

53 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60 onships, 17% were unsuccessful. During this period, the victory Franjo Mihalic at the Balkan Games in the number of participants in national competitions Belgrade, who won the second place in the Olym- has changed. The ﬁ rst peak was in 1950, probably as pic Marathon in 1956 and organization of the 1962 a consequence of the fact that marathon was a new European athletics championship in Belgrade. This discipline, and because athletes reached success in was also a period when the state invested signiﬁ cant easier way. The second period of growth in the num- funds in athletics. ber of race participants began in 1954 as a result of

Table 7. Data on national marathon championships in man category in Yugoslavia in the period since 1949. to 1991. The best The result Number of Number of Finished Result of placement of of best R.B. Date City Finished race competitors competitors race winner competitor competitor from Serbia from Serbia from Serbia 1. 04.09.1949. Beograd 6 3 3 2 3:15:00 1 3:15:00 2. 09.07.1950. Zagreb 12 11 6 6 2:42:14 1 2:42:14 3. 08.06.1952. Zagreb 10 7 4 3 2:38:10 3 2:49:01 4. 23.08.1953. Maribor 3 3 1 1 2:43:50 2 2:55:48 5. 26.06.1954. Beograd* 7 7 3 3 2:25:04 2 2:28:10 6. 23.10.1955. Subotica 5 2 2 0 2:54:12 - DNF 7. 05.07.1959. Beograd 8 8 5 5 2:35:11 2 2:35:31 8. 08.08.1960. Zagreb 11 11 7 7 2:29:11 1 2:29:11 9. 13.08.1961. Ljubljana 9 9 5 5 2:29:53 4 2:33:26 10. 09.08.1962. Ljubljana 9 7 5 4 2:27:20 4 2:43:16 11. 05.07.1964. Subotica 11 6 5 4 2:29:59 2 2:40:26 12. 08.08.1966. Sarajevo 6 6 1 1 2:35:09 5 2:58:41 13. 04.09.1967. Osijek 4 4 2 2 2:43:06 3 3:09:15 14. 12.08.1968. Celje 10 10 6 6 2:33:28 1 2:33:28 15. 11.08.1969. Rijeka 7 7 3 3 2:40:29 2 2:45:28 16. 14.09.1970. Velenje 17 13 9 8 2:29:58 2 2:33:01 17. 26.08.1971. Zagreb 17 4 11 3 2:37:15 2 2:40:30 18. 02.07.1972. Kragujevac 12 12 7 7 2:40:29 1 2:40:29 19. 01.07.1973. K. Polje 22 16 13 8 2:33:37 1 2:33:37 20. 30.06.1974. Varaždin 17 13 7 6 2:25:23 2 2:33:38 21. 29.06.1975. Celje 16 16 6 6 2:30:30 2 2:30:32 22. 12.09.1976. Titograd 8 7 4 3 2:27:57 4 2:44:42 23. 26.06.1977. Tuzla 17 16 8 8 2:22:59 1 2:22:59 24. 25.06.1978. Priština 18 18 6 6 2:23:27 3 2:33:51 25. 24.06.1979. Velenje 11 10 3 3 2:22:44 2 2:30:43 26. 30.06.1980. Vrginmost 10 10 4 4 2:38:31 2 2:43:02 27. 28.04.1981. Beograd 37 13 16 6 2:33:15 2 2:34:18 28. 19.06.1982. Odžaci 30 10 5 5 2:21:36 1 2:21:36 29. 24.04.1983. Velenje* 19 19 6 6 2:17:33 4 2:28:17 30. 12.08.1984. Ilidža 15 15 4 4 2:20:47 1 2:20:47 31. 01.06.1985. M. Sobota 6 6 2:23:27 1 2:23:27 32. 27.04.1986. Zagreb* 13 12 4 4 2:18:56 1 2:18:56 33. 06.06.1987. Novi Sad* 8 8 2 2 2:14:30 1 2:14:30 34. 04.06.1988. Topusko 14 12 2 2 2:33:50 1 2:33:50 35. 03.06.1989. Zasavica 9 9 4 4 2:24:39 1 2:24:39 36. 08.08.1990. Split 32 16 5 5 2:23:50 2 2:23:59 37. 23.03.1991. Lipik 13 13 0 0 2:18:19 - - * Shorter track

54 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Serbia has not always had the athletes in na- ner of surveying the route reduced comparability of tional championships, but the reason is not lack of the results achieved, i.e., the analysis could be done marathon runners, but specifi city of the discipline. with a certain generalization. The results that athletes The best runners from Serbia did not participate in achieved in marathon were ranged from 2:14:30 (it the championships due to appearances in internation- is not known how much the course was shorter than al competitions. Franjo Mihalic and Nediljko Farčić defi ned by rules) to 3:46:02 (Table 7). during their career never appeared at the state mara- The fi rst competition for the title of best fe- thon championships. male athlete in marathon was organized in Yugosla- via 1986 (Table 8). Contestants from Serbia have par- Besides the different profi les and settings for ticipated since 1987. the marathon track the lack of regulations on the man-

Table 8. Data on national marathon championships female category in Yugoslavia in the period since 1986. to 1991. The best Number of The result of best Number of Finished Finished Result of placement of Date Sity competitors competitor from competitors race race winner competitor from from Serbia Serbia Serbia

1. 27.04.1986. Zagreb* 3 3 0 3:32:59

2. 06.06.1987. Novi Sad* 6 5 3 3 2:55:18 1 2:55:18

3. 04.06.1988. Topusko 7 6 3 2 3:07:22 3 3:15:18

4. 03.06.1989. Zasavica 6 4 3 3 2:51:23 1 2:51:23

5. 08.08.1990. Split 6 4 2 2 2:45:55 1 2:45:55

6. 23.03.1991. Lipik 1 0 0 3:38:59 - -

National Championships in the Less competition and fewer participants ap- marathon in the period since 1992. to peared in the category of female athletes, but some the dissolution of achievements were at a very high level thanks to the Serbia and Montenegro results of Suzana Ciric and Olivera Jevtic (Table 10).

Disintegration of Yugoslavia occurred in 1992 Analysis of the number of participants and the and a new state, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, results of national championships in the marathon covered the area of two republics. This meant less showed a great diversity. One of the reasons why our competition and weaker competitors. The ﬁ rst na- best marathon runners have not always been able to tional championships were organized as part of the participate in competitions abroad. Another reason is mass marathons and the winning the contestants that no ﬁ nancial prizes were given to the winners of were from Serbia in all competitions (Table 9). A national championships. Particularly unfavourable number of runners, due to political events, in recent effect was caused bz the wars during the disintegra- years had to emigrate or move from Croatia to Ser- tion of Yugoslavia and the economic crisis, because bia. One of them was Borislav Devic, our champion several runners moved, and Goran Raicevic, one of in this discipline. our leading marathon runners, died in 1999.

55 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

Table 9. Data on state marathon championships in the athletes category from 1992 to 2005

Number of The best placement The result of best Number of Finished Result of Date City competitors of competitor from competitor from competitors race winner from Serbia Serbia Serbia

25.04.1992. Beograd 12 12 12 2:29:51 1 2:29:51 24.04.1993. Beograd 10 10 10 2:23:29 1 2:23:29 01.10.1994. Podgorica 14 9 2:23:24 1 2:23:24 08.10.1995. Podgorica 9 9 9 2:30:45 1 2:30:45 20.04.1996. Beograd 5 5 5 2:32:22 1 2:32:22 05.10.1997. Podgorica 10 10 10 2:16:13 1 2:16:13 25.04.1998. Beograd 11 11 6 2:18:01 1 2:18:01 01.10.1999. Podgorica 10 10 7 2:36:44 1 2:36:44 08.10.2000. Podgorica 9 9 9 2:19:43 1 2:19:43 16.09.2001. Novi Sad 10 10 9 2:16:11 1 2:16:11 27.10.2002. Podgorica 10 10 5 2:31:29 1 2:31:29 1 18.10.2003. Beograd 14 12 14 2:19:43 2:19:43 1 24.04.2004. Beograd 7 7 7 2:32:27 2:32:27 1 23.04.2005. Beograd 16 16 16 2:35:20 2:35:20

Table 10. Data on state marathon championships in woman category from1992. to 2005. The best Number of The result of best Number of Finished Result of placement of Date City competitors competitor from competitors race winner competitor from from Serbia Serbia Serbia

25.04.1992. Beograd 5 5 3 3:11:35 3 3:53:32

24.04.1993. Beograd 4 4 4 2:40:27 1 2:40:27

01.10.1994. Podgorica 4 4 4 3:04:55 1 3:04:55

08.10.1995. Podgorica 4 4 4 3:04:08 1 3:04:08

20.04.1996. Beograd 7 7 7 2:37:06 1 2:37:06

05.10.1997. Podgorica 5 5 5 2:50:03 1 2:50:03

25.04.1998. Beograd 4 4 4 3:10:01 1 3:10:01

01.10.1999. Podgorica 3 3 3 3:26:48 1 3:26:48

08.10.2000. Podgorica 7 7 7 3:11:16 1 3:11:16

16.09.2001. Novi Sad 3 3 3 2:44:23 1 2:44:23

27.10.2002. Podgorica 5 5 5 2.44:54 1 2.44:54

18.10.2003. Beograd 6 6 6 2:44:34 1 2:44:34

24.04.2004. Beograd 2 2 2 2:48:52 1 2:48:52

23.04.2005. Beograd 3 3 3 2:42:48 1 2:42:48

56 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

National Marathon Championships in in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and hosted one. As in the in the period since 2006. by 2010. the fi rst world marathons not all the results were recorded. Therefore, it was not possible to fi nd results In mid-2006 Montenegro declared its inde- scored by the two Serbian athletes in 1937 and 1938. pendence, and Serbia became an independent state The achieved results were not good (3:22:25 and again. The Athletic Federation of Serbia assumed the around or over 4 hours). role of athletic union of Serbia and Montenegro, and The interest of the state changed after the Sec- continued with the organization of national marathon ond World War. Sport became one of the most impor- championships. They were within the two of our tant fi elds for proving prestige among the countries most popular mass marathons. The number of partici- of the world. Thanks to the individuals who brought pants in these competition during the year decreased, this idea across to athletics of Serbia, as well as the as well as the level of results (Table 11). formation of athletic clubs “Partizan” and “Red Star”, the number of runners increased and results Table 11. Data on state marathon championships in improved. In contrast to the pre-war period, when the runners in the category from 2006 to 2010. runners from Serbia only supplemented the number Number of Finished Result of of competitors in the national championships, now Date city competitors race winner they mostly dominated. 1. 08.10.2006. Novi Sad 16 16 2:39:19 Changes in the national championships re- 2. 21.04.2007. Beograd 12 12 2:34:05 garding the way the organization occurred after the 3. 23.09.2008. Novi Sad 9 8 2:26:49 collapse of Yugoslavia. The development of those 4. 11.10.2009. Novi Sad 5 5 2:47:21 competitions after Serbia gained independence was similar to that in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and 8. 18.04.2010. Beograd 3 3 2:49:11 the countries that came out the Soviet Union. Since In contrast to the results level of male athletes, then, national championships have become part of the quality of the female achievements occasionally mass marathon. In order to motivate athletes to com- was at a higher level (Table 12). The number of fe- pete, cash prizes were introduced. male contestants has declined over the years, and af- National Marathon Championship for females ter 2008 the championship are no longer held. Yugoslavia was fi rst organized in 1986, and our athletes participated since 1987. A small number of fe- Table 12. Data on state marathon championships in male competitors led to the fact that after 2008 the female category from 2006. to 2010. female national championships have not been organized. Number of Finished Result of Date City During the periods of the World Wars, in some competitors race winner years (1956, 1957, 1958, 1963 and 1965), there was 1. 08.10.2006. Novi Sad 3 3 3:27:47 a discontinuity in these competitions due to historical 2. 21.04.2007. Beograd 4 4 2:35:46 events (the dissolution of Yugoslavia), economic con- 3. 23.09.2008. Novi Sad 2 2 3:03:30 ditions, insuffi cient number of competitors. The quality of performance of the participants in the national marathon championship is shown by the results that they have achieved. Some athletes, even though they represented our country at the international compe- CONCLUSION titions (Balkan Athletic Games, Olympic Games, European Championships), have not appeared in the The national marathon championships in Yu- national championship because of the specifi cities of goslavia appeared in the period between the two the discipline, which resulted in that the competitions World wars, as in Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, Poland, have not always refl ected the true quality of the mara- Romania, Turkey, USA. Competitors from Serbia thon in our country. Even today, this competition still participated in fi ve national marathon championships exists thanks to mass marathon events.

57 Repić Ćujić V., Juhas I., National Marathon Championships from 1930... PHYSICAL CULTURE 2013; 67 (1): 48-60

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Received: 18.12.2012. Accepted: 19.03.2013.