Croatian javelin thrower competes in qualifying on August 14, and with Sandra Elkasević absent, she takes on the role of the most experienced team member. Her season's best of 62.61 meters gives her wind at her back.
Athlete Sara Kolak from Kvarner begins her fifth European Championship appearance on Friday, August 14, 2026. In the javelin qualifying round in Birmingham, the 31-year-old thrower will seek a spot in the final and a break from a weaker streak in the last two continental competitions.
With Sandra Elkasević absent-the two-time Olympic champion, world champion, and seven-time European champion in discus throw-Kolak is the only member of the Croatian team to have won medals at major competitions. She took European bronze in 2016 in Amsterdam, and a month later in Rio de Janeiro became Olympic champion.
"I'm aware there's pressure; Sandra isn't here, and at 31, I'm the oldest on the team, but I try not to think about it. Pressure is a normal part of sport, and you simply earn it based on your results," Kolak told Novi list.
She added that it's important not to run from pressure but to embrace it, stay calm, and give your all.
Kolak achieved her season's best in mid-June at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, where her javelin landed at 62.61 meters. That result is the fourth-best in Europe this season and eighth in the world. She opened the competition with 62.56 meters, and in the remaining rounds threw 61.54, 62.41, 62.37, and 62.38 meters, meaning all six throws surpassed 60 meters.
"That competition should be my guide; it was truly excellent, I've never thrown so consistently," Kolak emphasized. She opened her season in South Africa with 59.23 meters, threw 61.42 in Bydgoszcz, and then came a weaker period. "Then came the Hanžeković Memorial and I kind of fizzled out," she admitted.
At the Croatian Championships in Zagreb, she finished second with 58.22 meters, which she acknowledged as part of a rough patch. "That didn't shake me because I saw more positives than negatives. In fact, it only motivated me more to keep working in training," she explained.
Four years ago in Munich, Kolak got stuck in qualifying with 57.31 meters, while in 2024 in Rome she finished 11th in the final with a throw of 55.90 meters. Birmingham is thus a chance to get back on track.
"The most important thing is that I feel good; I've trained well, and I'm satisfied with how we've done the final preparations for Birmingham. It's up to me to stay calm, happy, give my all, throw like I do in training, and believe in myself, and then we'll see what result that brings," she said.
Sara Kolak's first goal is to make Sunday's final, and she doesn't want to think about the qualifying mark. "The mark for the final will be known 24 hours before qualifying; predicting things makes no sense, and I don't deal with that," she said.
She recalled her first European Championship in 2014 in Zurich, when she "clung" to the qualifying mark, but she notes that the top 12 always make the final, with or without the mark. "You have only three throws in which you have to give your all and throw as far as you can. And that's it," she concluded.
She will be joined in qualifying by Vita Barbić, the newly crowned world junior vice-champion, coming straight from Eugene. "I congratulate Vita on the silver medal; she's been throwing consistently all season. The fact that she's coming straight from Eugene doesn't have to mean anything; maybe it'll be a bit harder for her, but I'm glad two javelin throwers represent Croatia at the European Championships. That's a great thing for Croatian athletics," Kolak said.
Sandra Elkasević, the seven-time European champion and the most successful athlete in the history of the continental championship, is not at the European Championships in Birmingham. "It's strange for all of us not to have Sandra here because we're used to her always being around; she's an example to all of us, her experience is invaluable, she's our captain. We all miss her, but we know she's cheering for all of us," Kolak concluded for Novi list.
