Bobana Veličković

Serbian sports shooter Bobana Veličković first began practicing shooting when she was nine-years-old. Veličković specialised in the pistol events, with her winning her first international medal in 2007 with bronze in the 10 metres air pistol junior women’s event. By 2010 she had become the European champion in the 10 metres air pistol, also winning gold in the team event. She won further individual golds at the European championships in 2012 and 2020, along with four team golds (2011, 2013, 2017, 2020). At the 2014 World Championships in Granada she won gold in the team event.

Veličković made her Olympic début at the 2012 London Games where she finished 22nd. She returned to the Olympics four years later for the Rio de Janeiro Games and improved on her previous result to finish seventh. She also finished 21st in the 25 metres sporting pistol event in Rio. Tragically for Veličković she was only 30-years-old when she died in June 2020 due to complications at childbirth. She was posthumously named the Sportswoman of the Year by the Olympic Committee of Serbia.