Božidar Stanišić

Božidar Stanišić didn’t learn to swim until he was 14, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the top water polo players ever to come from Montenegro. He débuted for PKV Jadran, the team from his home town of Herceg Novi in 1954, and made the national team two years later. Stanišić went on to win 99 caps in all. His greatest successes came in 1958, when Yugoslavia was runner-up at the European Championships in Budapest, and in 1964 when the Yugoslavs won a silver medal at the Olympics. In national competition, he helped Jadran win the title in 1958 and 1959, before switching to VK Bijela. He later coached both teams as well, leading Bijela to the premier division, and earning a cup final spot with Jadran. Stanišić, who completed a law degree, was elected athlete of the year in Montenegro a record four times (1959, 1961, 1963, 1965).