August 14, 2020 – What happens if you start from the centre of the world? Meet the Olympic Gold javelin throw from Ludbreg.
It is almost 4 years to the day that the Croatian town which translates as Crazy Hill went absolutely crazy, as locals took to the streets to celebrate the success of their new local Olympic champion.
For far, far away on the other side of the planet, local Ludbreg girl Sara Kolak, aged just 21, was crowned Olympic gold javelin champion after stunning the competition with a personal best of 66.18 metres.
Kolak returned to Ludbreg to a great party, and the new local heroine had her fantastic achievement marked in a number of ways. Local winery Strucic produced a special Sara Kolak label in her honour, while a more permanent record of her incredible success was marked on the main square of the town, just a few metres from Ludbreg’s most famous attraction – the centre of the world.
Sara built on her Olympic success in Lausanne the following year, where she threw what is currently the 8th longest throw in history. All this is recorded on the main square in front of the statue built in her honour with those famous 66.18 metres.
The milestone throws are recorded further down the square in front of Sara’s statue, and you can stand behind her and dream that you too could one day be an Olympic champion.
Learn more about Sara’s achievement and the statue in her honour in the latest edition of the new TCN series One Minute Ludbreg, which is putting all the considerable secrets of this rather unusual town into one place.
The One Minute Ludbreg video series is a project in paid partnership with the Ludbreg Tourist Board.
To learn more about Ludbreg beyond its stereotype as the centre of the world, read Marc Rowlands’ Ludbreg, the Croatian Road Less Travelled.
