Governor Honors Thrower Nedzad Mulabegovic
Mulabegovic presented with Sagamore of the Wabash Award
Nedzad Mulabegovic received the Sagamore of the Wabash award Tuesday. He begins training for next season on Monday.
An Olympic-Sized Experience
Sept. 9, 2004
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - 2004 Olympian Nedzad Mulabegovic was presented with the Sagamore of the Wabash Award Tuesday in ceremonies hosted by Indiana Governor Joe Kernan.
"The Governor's office sent me a notice after I competed at the Olympics, saying they wanted to honor me," said Nedzad. "I was one of over 30 athletes to receive this award, and it's an accolade I'm very honored to receive."
According to the Indiana State Information Center web site, the award is highest honor, which the Governor of Indiana bestows. Among these who have received Sagamores have been astronauts, presidents, ambassadors, artists, musicians, politicians, and ordinary citizens who have contributed greatly to Hoosier heritage.
"This is quite an honor for Nedzad," said Purdue assistant coach John Zera. "He is more than deserving of this award, which is Indiana's highest civilian honor. The state's recognition of his accomplishments not only benefits him, but the entire university."
Mulabegovic recently returned to Purdue after competing in the shot put at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The Boilermakers' record holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot put placed 29th with a launch of 19.07 meters (62 feet, 6 3/4 inches).
A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Mulabegovic automatically qualified for the Olympic Games last summer, winning the Croatian National Championship with a then-career best launch of 20.15 (66-1 1/2). Mulabegovic's current lifetime best mark stands at 20.31 (66-7 3/4), which he registered at a Croatia-based meet prior to the Olympics.
Nedzad's indoor record stands at 19.64 (64-5 1/4), which was registered last January against Indiana State.
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2004: (Outdoor) Finished runner-up in the shot put at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a season-best launch of 64-4.75 ... placed fourth in the discus at the conference championships with another season-best throw of 178-9 ... earned victories in the shot put at the Purdue Invitational, Indy Relays and against Indiana ... recorded a second-place showing in the discus against the Hoosiers with a launch of 173-1.
2004: (Indoor) All-American ... placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., with a throw of 63-10 1/2 in the shot put ... placed first in the shot put in three of six chances ... finshed as the runner-up in the shot put at the Ohio State Triangular and Big Ten Championships, both times placing behind Ohio State's Dan Taylor ... recorded a varsity record and NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 64-5 1/4 in the shot put against Indiana State ... won shot put titles at the New York Armory Collegiate Invitational and Purdue Invitational.
2003: (Outdoor) Received first All-America citation after placing fourth in the shot put at the NCAA Championships ... shot put throw landed at the 64-8 mark, then a school record ... improved on his school record by nearly two feet at the Croatian National Championships in August ... his winning throw at the national championship meet was measured at 66-1 1/2 ... competed in the shot put at the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea ... his third-place throw traveled 65-7 ... missed most of season due to injury ... returned to action at the Penn Relays and placed third in the shot put, recording a launch of 61-9 1/2 ... broke his own school record in the shot put three times during the season ... broke record a first time with a toss of 63-11 1/2 against Indiana ... improved on this mark by a centimeter for second-place honors at the Big Ten Championships ... again improved on his school record by a centimeter at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, where he placed third with a toss of 64- 1/4 ... recorded a personal record of 176-4 in his lone discus attempt against Indiana ... qualified for regionals in the discus ... (Indoor) Just missed becoming All-American after placing 10th in the shot put (61-5 1/2) at the NCAA Championships ... finished runner up in the shot put at the Big Ten Championships launching a season-best effort of 62-10 1/2 ... won shot put titles at the Indiana State dual meet and at the N.Y. Armory Invitational ... earned second place honors in the shot at the Indiana/Ohio State triangular.
2002: (Outdoor) Threw the shot put at the NCAA Championships, finishing 11th with a throw of 61-11 3/4 … runner-up in the shot put and third in the discus at the Big Ten Championships with throws of 60-8 1/2 and 169-3 respectively … won five straight shot put competitions leading up to the Big Ten meet … top shot put mark of the season was an automatic qualifying and school record toss of 63-3 1/4 at the Hurricane Invitational … won the shot put title at the Boilermaker Open, Indiana Quad and Clemson and Purdue invitationals … best discus throw of the season (171-10) came in winning performance at Purdue Invitational … (Indoor) Broke school record in the indoor shot put by nearly two feet with an automatic qualifying mark of 64-1 to win the event at the Armory Invitational … was runner-up in the shot at the Ohio State Invitational… finished ninth in the event at the NCAA Championships … earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors on Feb. 12 after breaking the school record at the Armory Invitational … named Freshman of the Year.
High School: Won the national high school championships in the shot put during sophomore, junior and senior years … threw 66-2 1/2 in the 5 Kg. shot as a senior, earning Athlete of the Year honors … finished first at the national high school meet with tosses of 63-11 and 61-6 1/4 in sophomore and junior seasons respectively … was runner-up in the shot at the high school championships with a heave of 57-5 as a freshman.
Personal: Given name Nedzad Mulabegovic … born Feb. 4, 1980 … parents are Fazila and Sulejman Mulabegovic … has one sister, Amra … majoring in communication.
