# Dragutin Topić

Dragutin Topić (Serbian Cyrillic: Драгутин Топић, born 12 March 1971) is a retired Serbian high jumper, former European champion and world junior record holder.

## Biography

Topić is a world junior record holder with 2.37 m, which he set while winning the 1990 World Junior Championships, three weeks before his win at the senior European Championships. In the same year, Topić received the Golden Badge award for best athlete of Yugoslavia. Topić set five national records and claimed four Yugoslav national championships in the men's high jump event. He is a former member of AK Crvena zvezda, where he spent the majority of his career.
Topić competed until 2012, and had one of the longest careers in high-level high jump, since he holds not only world junior record with 2.37 m, but also world masters record for the ages over 35 (2.31 m, set in 2009), and over 40 years of age (2.28 m, set in 2012).
He competed at eight World Championships, and at six Olympic Games (between 1992 and 2012), which is an Olympic record for high jump, and he also shared the record for most appearances at the Olympics by a male track and field athlete with distance runner João N'Tyamba and race walker Jesús Ángel García, who later broke the record. In 2024 he received Coaching award at the Golden Tracks awards organized by the European Athletic Association (EAA).

## Personal bests

| Event | Performance | Date | Location |
| High jump (outdoor) | 2.38 m | 1 August 1993 | Belgrade |
| High jump (indoor) | 2.35 m | 10 March 1996 | Stockholm |

## International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
| Representing SFR Yugoslavia |||||
| 1989 | European Junior Championships | Varaždin, Yugoslavia | 4th | 2.20 m |
| 1990 | World Junior Championships | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | 1st | 2.37 m |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 1st | 2.34 m |
| 1991 | World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 11th | 2.24 m |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 9th | 2.28 m |
| 1992 | European Indoor Championships | Genoa, Italy | 3rd | 2.29 m |
| Representing Independent Olympic Participants |||||
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 8th | 2.28 m |
| Representing FR Yugoslavia |||||
| 1993 | Universiade | Buffalo, United States | 8th | 2.21 m |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 26th (q) | 2.20 m |
| 1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 5th | 2.31 m |
| 1994 | Grand Prix Final | Paris, France | 3rd | 2.30 m |
| 1995 | Universiade | Fukuoka, Japan | 1st | 2.29 m |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 8th | 2.25 m |
| 1996 | European Indoor Championships | Stockholm, Sweden | 1st | 2.35 m |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 4th | 2.32 m |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 3rd | 2.32 m |
| 1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 22nd (q) | 2.23 m |
| 1998 | European Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 6th | 2.22 m |
| 1998 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 9th | 2.24 m |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 4th | 2.32 m |
| 2000 | European Indoor Championships | Ghent, Belgium | 3rd | 2.34 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 21st (q) | 2.20 m |
| 2000 | Grand Prix Final | Doha, Qatar | 3rd | 2.25 m |
| Representing Serbia and Montenegro |||||
| 2003 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 4th | 2.30 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 10th | 2.29 m |
| 2005 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 5th | 2.30 m |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 9th | 2.25 m |
| Representing Serbia |||||
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 31st (q) | 2.19 m |
| 2008 | European Cup — 2nd League | Banská Bystrica, Slovakia | 1st | 2.24 m |
| 2008 | World Indoor Championships | Valencia, Spain | 6th | 2.27 m |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 17th (q) | 2.25 m |
| 2009 | European Indoor Championships | Turin, Italy | 8th | 2.25 m |
| 2009 | European Team Championships — 1st League | Bergen, Norway | 1st | 2.29 m |
| 2009 | Mediterranean Games | Pescara, Italy | 3rd | 2.26 m |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 30th (q) | 2.15 m |
| 2012 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 30th (q) | 2.10 m |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | — | NM |
* (q) Indicates overall position in the qualifying round.
* At the 2012 Olympic Games, Topić had three failures at the opening height of 2.16 m in the qualifying round.

## Doping

On 2 February 2001, after a meeting in Wuppertal, Germany, he was tested and his urine sample showed the presence of norandrosterone in concentrations slightly higher than allowed. He was tested positive to norandrosterone and suspended for two years.

## Personal life

His wife is Serbian former track and field athlete and national record holder in triple jump, Biljana Topić (née Mitrović), and he served as her coach while he was still an active competitor. Their daughter, Angelina Topić, won the high jump event at the 2022 European U18 Championships and also holds the national record in high jump, as well as equal world U18 best. During the 1990's, Topić was a member of the Yugoslav Left (JUL) political party.