Veliša Mugoša

Veliša Mugoša (14 April 1931 – 14 April 1979) was a Yugoslav long-distance runner. He competed in the men's 5000 metres at the 1956 Summer Olympics.[4] He finished in second place in the men's 5000 meters at the 1957 World University Games.

Veliša Mugoša

Personal information
Nationality	Yugoslav
Born	14 April 1931 Lješkopolje, Donja Gorica, Podgorica, Yugoslavia[1]
Died	14 April 1978 (aged 47)[1]
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Event(s)	5000 metres
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking	8th in men's 5000m (1956)[2]
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:50.4[2] 1500 m: 3:43.0[2] 3000 m: 8:05.4[3] 5000 m: 13:58.8[3]
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Yugoslavia World University Games 1957 Paris 5000 m

Running career

Mugoša ran as a youth in the place of his birth, Lješkopolje, a rural part of the Donja Gorica suburb in present-day Podgorica.[1] In 1949, Mugoša was the winner of a state junior 1500 meter race for high schoolers in Varaždin.[1] After graduating from high school, he trained in several track clubs over a shorter period of time, including Budućnost, Olimpija Ljubljana, Mladost Zagreb, and AK Partizan.[1] After that, he moved to AK Crvena Zvezda, where he trained until the end of his career.[1] In Belgrade, he was a geography and philosophy student at the University of Belgrade while he recorded Yugoslavia's leading results in the 1500, 3000, and 5000 meters.[5] On 1 July 1956, he ran a personal best time of 13:58.8 in a 5000 meter race in Belgrade,[2] becoming the first person from Yugoslavia to ever run the distance under 14 minutes.[1] At the 1956 Summer Olympics, he progressed to the men's 5000 meter final but dropped out of the race after going out at world record pace.[1]

In the late 1950s, he traveled to the United States where he ran several indoor races. On 1 February 1958, in front of an audience of 12,445 at Boston Garden, Mugoša finished the indoor 2-mile at the Boston AA Games in second place behind Deacon Jones, who won in 9:01.1.[6] On 22 February 1958, he won the men's indoor 3-mile at the AAU Indoor Championships in a time of 13:54.2.[7]

References

1. "MEMORIJALNA TRKA SENIORA NA 5000 METARA SJEĆANJE NA VELIKE TRKE VELIŠE MUGOŠE" (in Serbian).
2. "Track and Field Statistics: Velisa Mugosa".
3. "Runner: Velisa Mugosa". Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
4. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Veliša Mugoša Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
5. Tex Maule (27 January 1958). "THEY'RE OFF". Sports Illustrated.
6. Ed Corrigan (1 February 1958). "DELANY SCORES IN BOSTON MILE". Bridgeport Sunday Post.
7. Association of Road Racing Statisticians - Race profile: AAU Indoor Championships. February 22, 1958.