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Lisa Stublić Athlete

Lisa Christina Stublić (born May 18, 1984) is a Croatian long-distance runner. Born and raised in the United States, where she competed for the Columbia University, Stublić moved to Croatia, her father's homeland, and established herself as a leading long-distance athlete in the country, having set the Croatian records in 3000 meters steeplechase, 5000 meters, half marathon, and marathon. She is the first Croatian marathon runner ever to qualify for the Olympic Games. Stublić was born in Waterbury, Connecticut to father born in Sisak, Croatia, who later emigrated at age of 18, and subsequently moved to Connecticut and Italian American mother. In high school, she had to pick a sport and after ruling out team sports and quitting swimming on her first training session – running was the last option left. With virtually no training, she became one of the top 10,000 m runners in her high school and qualified for the state championship. She chose athletic scholarship offered by the Columbia University and moved to New York in 2002 to study music theory. In the third and fourth year of college, she switched from 5000 meters to 10,000 meters and steeplechase and became a member of the cross country team that won championship titles in each of the four years she competed. Stublić qualified for the NCAA Nationals four times and earned the All-American honors once. After graduating, she lived in New York, working two jobs and training in a local athletic club. In 2008 she moved to Croatia to learn Croatian after becoming dissatisfied by her financial situation and the fact she could still not find a job as a professor of music. In Croatia, Stublić moved to Zagreb and met Slavko Petrović, Croatian record holder over 10,000 meters, who was beginning to coach at the AC Zagreb Ulix. She joined AC Zagreb Ulix where Petrović, now her coach, noticed that her build and running efficiency made her naturally suited to competing over longer distances. In December 2008, after only three and a half months of work with her new coach, she set a national record in half marathon. Already the top Croatian female distance runner by the end of 2008, having set the season's best marks in 3000 meters, 3000 meters steeplechase, 5000 meters, 10,000 meters and half marathon, Stublić agreed with her coach to focus on the track events in 2009, but to prepare for the marathon in the autumn of 2009, with the goal of qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The 2009 season was successful, as she topped the national year rankings in the same five events again, setting national records over 3000 meters steeplechase and 5000 meters in the process. Stublić made her marathon debut at the 2010 Berlin Marathon finishing ninth and well within the Olympic A standard. The result was the fastest marathon run by any Croatian athlete in 2010, including men. Stublić won the Linz Marathon, her second marathon race, clocking 2:30:46, ten minutes ahead of the rest of the women's field, improving the national record by almost three minutes. On August 27, 2011 she competed in the marathon at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, Korea—her first major championships and only the third marathon of her career. She placed 27th with the time of 2:36:41, slower than her personal best set earlier in the year, but still within her pre-race expectations.