Having swum from a young age, Nikola Trojanović’s talents were noticed by the famous Croatian aquatic champion Božo Grkinić. For the first few years after World War II, however, he was active primarily as a water polo player with VK Mornar. In 1950 he was part of the Yugoslavian team that won a bronze medal in water polo at the year’s European Aquatics Championships. He only switched to a focus on swimming in 1951, although he had won a national title in the 100 metres butterfly in 1950. In 1951 he won a national 200 metres breaststroke championship and the following year he was selected to represent his country in that event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he was eliminated in the semifinals. He continued swimming until 1960, when illness forced him to stop training, but never again appeared at a major international championship. Having been injured during World War II, he later spent much time working with disabled swimmers. On July 30, 2019 he became the oldest living Croatian Olympian, following the death of Ivo Lipanović, but he died less than a month later at the age of 90.
Yugoslavia
Croatia