Vera Nikolić

Vera Nikolić

Personal information
Born	23 September 1948 (age 68) Grabovica, Yugoslavia
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	800 m, 1500 m
Club	Morava Cuprija Dynamo Zagreb
Coached by	Leo Lang
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m – 1:59.62 (1972) 1500 m – 4:12.7 (1972)
Medal record Representing  Yugoslavia European Championships 1966 Budapest 800 m 1971 Helsinki 800 m 1969 Athens 800 m Mediterranean Games 1971 Izmir 800 m 1971 Izmir 1500 m

Vera Nikolić (Serbian Cyrillic: Вера Николић; born 23 September 1948) is a Serbian coach and retired middle-distance runner who competed at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. 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 on 20 July 1968. She came to the 1968 Olympics as a favorite, but due to the pressure of being the favorite^[1] 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.^[2] She set her personal best in 800 m at the 1972 Olympics, but this was only enough for a fifth place.^[3]

Nikolić received a Golden Badge of Sport, award for the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1966.

References

1. www.blicsport.rs Vera Nikolić: Za mene je Bekrić vanzemaljac, ali ne stvarajmo pritisak sportistima
2. Athletics at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Women's 800 metres. sports-reference.com
3. Vera Nikolić. Sports Reference