Branko Zorko

Branko Zorko (born 1967-07-01 in Hodošan) is a Croatian middle distance runner, a notable 1500 m competitor in the 1990s. Probably his biggest accomplishment is winning the first international medal for the country of Croatia, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 European Indoor Athletics Championships. His other major sports achievements include:

* 6th place at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships (3000 m)
* Bronze medal at the 1992 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
* Bronze medal at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships
* Silver medal at the 1994 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
* Bronze medal at the 1994 European Championships in Athletics
* 4th place at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
* 4th place at the 2002 European Indoor Athletics Championships

By the late 1990s, Zorko was increasingly suffering from injuries, which prompted him to turn to professional pacemaking. As a pacemaker, he assisted in setting several world records, both indoors and outdoors, most notably for Haile Gebrselassie.

Zorko ran 1500 m in five Summer Olympic Games, from 1988 to 2004, but without particular success.

On 2005-07-11, at IAAF Zagreb Grand Prix, Zorko announced his retirement from competitive running.__NOTOC__

Personal bests

Outdoors

"Note: * — Croatian national record as of August 2006."

Indoors

"Note: * — Croatian national record as of August 2006."

External links

*
* [http://www.has.hr/rekordi/rekordiSSM.htm Croatian National Records - Men]
* [http://www.has.hr/rekordi/rekordiDV.htm Croatian National Records - Men Indoors]
* [http://www.krizevci.eu/en_GB/kri%C5%BEevci/personage/branko+zorko/ Krizevci.eu: Branko Zorko]