Sandra Elkasević facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sandra Elkasević

Elkasević at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin
Personal information
Birth name	Sandra Perković
Nationality	Croatian
Born	(1990-06-21) 21 June 1990 (age 35) Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.83 m
Weight	85 kg
Spouse(s)	Edis Elkasević ​ (m. 2023)​
Sport
Country	Croatia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Discus throw
Club	HAAK Mladost Dinamo Zrinjevac
Coached by	Edis Elkasević
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	1st (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Personal best(s)	Discus throw: 71.41 NR (Bellinzona 2017) Shot put: 16.40 (Split 2011) Indoors Shot put: 16.99i (Rijeka 2011)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Croatia Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Discus throw Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Discus throw Bronze 2024 Paris Discus throw World Championships Gold 2013 Moscow Discus throw Gold 2017 London Discus throw Silver 2015 Beijing Discus throw Silver 2022 Eugene Discus throw Bronze 2019 Doha Discus throw Diamond League 2012 Discus throw 2013 Discus throw 2014 Discus throw 2015 Discus throw 2016 Discus throw 2017 Discus throw European Championships Gold 2010 Barcelona Discus throw Gold 2012 Helsinki Discus throw Gold 2014 Zürich Discus throw Gold 2016 Amsterdam Discus throw Gold 2018 Berlin Discus throw Gold 2022 Munich Discus throw Gold 2024 Rome Discus throw Mediterranean Games Gold 2013 Mersin Discus Throw Gold 2018 Tarragona Discus Throw Continental Cup Silver 2010 Split Discus throw Bronze 2014 Marrakech Discus throw World Junior Championships Bronze 2008 Bydgoszcz Discus throw European Junior Championships Gold 2009 Novi Sad Discus throw Silver 2007 Hengelo Discus throw World Youth Championships Silver 2007 Ostrava Discus throw European Youth Olympic Festival Silver 2007 Belgrade Discus throw

Sandra Elkasević (born Sandra Perković on June 21, 1990) is a famous Croatian discus thrower. She has won many big competitions. Sandra is a two-time Olympic champion, winning gold medals in 2012 London and 2016 Rio. She also won two World Championships in 2013 and 2017.

Sandra has won the European Championship seven times! This makes her the most successful female discus thrower ever. She has also won the Diamond League series seven times. She has won 46 of these special track and field meetings.

Sandra had a great junior career, winning gold at the 2009 European Junior Championships. She even set a new national record then. A month later, she competed in the World Championships. She was the youngest discus thrower there to reach the final.

In 2010, she won gold at the European Championships. This made her the youngest European champion in women's discus throw history. She had a break from competing for a few months in 2011 due to a rule violation. However, she learned from it and came back stronger. She successfully defended her European title in 2012. In 2016, she was named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year.

Her coach is Edis Elkasević, whom she married in 2023. Sandra's personal best throw is 71.41 meters. This is also a Croatian national record. She achieved this in July 2017 in Switzerland. At that time, it was the longest throw by a female athlete in 25 years!

Early Life and Junior Athletics Career

Sandra Elkasević started athletics when she was in second grade. She also played basketball and volleyball. By sixth grade, she focused mainly on athletics. She specialized in shot put and discus throw. In 2001, she joined the Dinamo-Zrinjevac athletics club.

Since 2004, her coach has been Ivan Ivančić, a former Olympic shot putter. He saw her amazing talent in discus throw. In her first year with him, her personal best improved a lot. It went from 32 meters to over 50 meters, just as her coach predicted.

Sandra started winning medals in discus throw in 2006. At her first big competition, the 2006 World Junior Championships, she didn't make the final. But after that, she regularly won international medals. She won silver at the World Youth Championships and the European Junior Championships in 2007. In 2008, she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.

In early 2009, Sandra faced a serious health problem. Doctors misdiagnosed her appendicitis. Her appendix burst, which led to a dangerous infection called sepsis. She needed two emergency surgeries and a long time to recover. She lost 15 kg (about 33 pounds) during this time. Doctors thought she wouldn't be able to train fully until the end of the year.

However, Sandra started training again after only three months. She returned to competition in July 2009. She won the discus throw gold medal at the European Junior Championships in Novi Sad. There, she set a new national record with a throw of 62.44 meters. This was the best performance at the European Junior Championships in 20 years! She won by a huge margin of over 7 meters. Even her other throws would have been enough for gold.

A month later, she competed in her first major senior competition. This was the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. She finished 9th, being the youngest discus thrower in the competition. Later that year, she improved her national record to 62.79 meters.

Because of her successful 2009 season, SPIKES magazine named her one of "ten rising stars to watch in 2010." She also received the Croatian Olympic Committee's Dražen Petrović Award. This award is given to the most promising Croatian female athlete.

Senior Athletics Career Highlights

Elkasević at the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb in 2010.

In March 2010, Sandra greatly improved her personal best to 66.85 meters. This was the best throw in the world for 2010 at that time. She also set her outdoor personal best in shot put at 16.02 meters. She continued her strong performance by winning gold at the European Cup Winter Throwing.

In June, Sandra won gold in both discus throw and shot put at the European Team Championships. This helped her national team move up to a higher league.

Her excellent form in 2010 led to a gold medal at the European Championships in Barcelona. She had a tough time in the qualification round. She barely made it to the final, placing 10th. But in the final, her first throw was strong. She was in second place until her last throw of 64.67 meters, which won her the gold. She became the youngest European champion in women's discus throw.

At the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, Sandra won with a new national record of 66.93 meters. She finished her first Diamond League season in second place overall. After winning the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, she ended the 2010 season with a silver medal at the IAAF Continental Cup. European Athletics recognized her successful year by giving her the European Athletics Rising Star of the Year award.

In February 2011, Sandra won the discus throw at the Croatian Winter Throws Championship. She improved her national record to 67.96 meters. In the same competition, she also set a national record in shot put at 16.40 meters. A few days later, she got a back injury and missed a competition. She returned in May, winning the Diamond League discus throw event in Shanghai.

Returning to Competition in 2012

Sandra Elkasević with her 2012 London Olympic gold medal.

Sandra returned to competition in 2012 and continued to throw very well. She won the under-23 section at the 2012 European Cup Winter Throwing. She set a national record of 68.24 meters at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Then, she broke the meet record at the Prefontaine Classic in June. By throwing far enough, Sandra qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the European Championships in Helsinki, Sandra's main competitor was Nadine Müller from Germany. Nadine was the 2011 World Championships silver medalist. She was also the world's top discus thrower in 2012. In the final, Sandra had trouble with two throws that didn't count. Under pressure, she threw 67.62 meters in her third attempt. This throw was better than anyone else's, earning Sandra her second European title.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sandra won the gold medal. She set a new national record with a throw of 69.11 meters.

Winning More Championships

Sandra continued her winning streak in 2013. She won the 2013 World Championship in Moscow.

In 2014, she won her third major championship. She took home the gold at the 2014 European Championship in Zurich. She set another personal best with a throw of 71.08 meters. Two weeks later, in the same stadium, Sandra won the 2014 Diamond League season final. This happened on the same day her original coach, Ivan Ivančić, passed away.

Elkasević at the 2015 Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix in Doha.

In 2015, Sandra won a silver medal at the 2015 World Championships. She achieved this with her final throw.

The year 2016 was perfect for Sandra. She won all eleven competitions she entered. This included the Olympic Games and the European Championships. She won her Olympic title with just one successful throw. Her throw of 69.21 meters was 2 meters farther than any other competitor.

In 2017, Sandra had another nearly perfect season. She won nine out of eleven competitions. This included the World Championships in London. Just before the World Championships, she threw a national record of 71.41 meters. This was the best throw in the world that year and the longest in 25 years.

The year 2018 was also very successful for Sandra. She won the European Championships. She only lost twice that year, at the Diamond League Final and the IAAF Continental Cup.

In 2019, Sandra's long period of being the world's top discus thrower ended. She won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships. The gold and silver went to two Cuban athletes. Sandra didn't throw as far as in previous seasons. She won three of the nine finals she competed in.

The year 2020 was a quiet season for many athletes. Sandra won several competitions in Croatia.

In 2021, Sandra finished in 4th place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed.

Recent Competitions (2022-2024)

Sandra started the 2022 season with a win in Split, throwing 66.16 meters. She then placed second at the Diamond League competition in Birmingham with her season best of 67.26 meters. A week later, she was second again at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. She improved her season best to 68.19 meters in Paris in June.

She won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships. Sandra qualified for the final with her first throw. In the final, her second throw of 68.45 meters earned her the silver medal. This was her fifth medal at the World Championships.

Winning gold at the 2022 European Championships was a big achievement. It made her the first athlete ever to win six individual titles at the European Athletics Championships. She had the best result in Europe coming into the championship. She finished first in both the qualification and the final, with a winning throw of 67.95 meters. In September, she finished second at the Diamond League Finals in Zürich.

Sandra started the 2023 season in June with a second-place finish at the Diamond League competition in Paris. A week later, she was third at the Diamond League competition in Oslo. On July 2, she won the Diamond League competition in Stockholm. This was her 46th win in her career.

At the World Championship in Budapest, she qualified with the third-best result. She improved her season best in the final, finishing fifth. This was her seventh time competing at the World Athletics Championships. She finished second at the Diamond League event in Xiamen, with her season best of 67.32 meters. She improved her season best a week later at the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, winning it for the 11th time.

In 2024, Sandra won her seventh European title at the European Championships in Rome. She also earned a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Achievements and Awards

International Competitions

Here are some of Sandra's top results in major international competitions:

Representing  Croatia

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
2006	World Junior Championships	Beijing, China	10th (q)	44.11 m
2007	World Youth Championships	Ostrava, Czech Republic	2nd	51.25 m
	European Junior Championships	Hengelo, Netherlands	2nd	55.42 m
2008	World Junior Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	7th (q)	15.03 m
			3rd	54.24 m
2009	European Junior Championships	Novi Sad, Serbia	1st	62.44 m
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	9th	60.77 m
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	1st	64.67 m
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1st	67.62 m
	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	1st	69.11 m
2013	Mediterranean Games	Mersin, Turkey	1st	66.21 m
	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	1st	67.99 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	1st	71.08 m
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	2nd	67.39 m
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	69.97 m
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	69.21 m
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	1st	70.31 m
2018	Mediterranean Games	Tarragona, Spain	1st	66.46 m
	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	1st	67.62 m
2019	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	3rd	66.72 m
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	4th	65.01 m
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	2nd	68.45 m
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	1st	67.95 m
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	5th	66.57 m
2024	European Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	67.04 m
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	3rd	67.51 m

Circuit Wins and Titles

Sandra has won the overall IAAF Diamond League discus throw title many times:

• 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• She was also the IAAF Diamond League discus throw champion in 2017.

She has won many individual Diamond League meetings:

• 2010 (2 wins): New York, Brussels
• 2012 (6 wins): Shanghai, Eugene, Oslo, Monaco, Stockholm, Zürich
• 2013 (7 wins): Doha, New York, Rome, Birmingham, Lausanne, Monaco, Brussels
• 2014 (6 wins): Shanghai, Eugene, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Zürich
• 2015 (6 wins): Doha, Rome, Birmingham, New York, Monaco, Brussels
• 2016 (7 wins): Shanghai, Eugene, Oslo, Stockholm, London, Paris, Zürich
• 2017 (4 wins): Shanghai, Oslo, Birmingham, Brussels
• 2018 (4 wins): Doha, Rome, Paris, London
• 2021 (2 wins): Florence, Paris
• 2022 (1 win): Oslo

Awards and Recognition

Sandra has received many awards for her athletic achievements:

• She was named the Croatian Sportswoman of the Year by Sportske novosti nine times: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022.
• She was also the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year in 2016.
• The Croatian Olympic Committee named her Croatian Sportswoman of the Year nine times, including in 2022.

Personal Life

Sandra Elkasević is a Roman Catholic. She speaks Croatian and English very well. She also understands some Italian. On December 31, 2023, she married her long-time boyfriend and coach, Edis Elkasević.

See also

In Spanish: Sandra Elkasević para niños