Among the top runners at this year’s Belgrade Marathon were five brothers from the Narančić family. These fast and resilient young men came from a village in Lika, though they were born in Serbia after Operation Storm. They returned to the ashes of their family home—now teeming with life once again. The two youngest brothers, Dragan and Đorđe, are members of the Croatian national athletics team, but the dream of all the brothers is to one day run for a club in Serbia.
“At one point, I looked back and saw more than four thousand people behind me. It felt like an entire city from Croatia! My brothers ran the half marathon—over seven thousand participants. It was something incredible. When we sent the video to our coach, he was thrilled,” says Nemanja Narančić, who finished 15th in the 10K race. His brothers also placed well in the half marathon.
The Narančić family—Aleksandar, Nemanja, Arsenije, Radmila, Stevan, Zoran, Goran, Dragan, Đorđe, along with parents Mira and Dušan—comes from Doljani, near Otočac. Only the eldest, Aleksandar, was born in Croatia. The rest were born in Serbia after the family fled during the war. They lived in refugee centers, moving from Vrbas to Srbobran, then to Crna Trava, and finally settling in Kolare, a village near Jagodina.
“Just when we’d get used to new friends and schools, we’d have to move again. Constant adaptation. In 2008, we returned to Lika. We were offered a house renovation. Nostalgia pulled Dad back. We had to quickly adjust to hard farm work—agriculture was our only income. The village was burned, with no infrastructure. Politicians promised a lot, but barely ten percent came true,” Nemanja explains.
The brothers began farming, built barns, bought livestock. Today, the industrious Narančić family operates three registered farms on a single estate, managed by Nemanja, his brother Arsenije, and their father. They raise sheep, cows, pigs, and donkeys, and produce meat.
In addition to farming, all the siblings work jobs: the twins manage warehouse logistics, Arsenije is a carpenter, two brothers work in construction, the sister is a shop clerk, and Nemanja specializes in waterworks. They work from dawn to dusk—and five of them still train regularly.
The brothers run for Sports Club Otočac and also compete with Athletics Club Grobnik from Rijeka. Despite being in the sport only two years, their results are outstanding. Right after the Belgrade Marathon, they competed in Bihać, where Dragan placed first, Goran second, Đorđe third, Nemanja sixth, and Zoran seventh in the 5K race.
“In high school, we started attending competitions. Coach Mandarić noticed us and encouraged us to sign up for a race in Otočac in 2022. We did great there and again the following year. But the breakthrough came in a race in Gospić, when Dragan beat national champion Ante Živković. He saw our talent and invited us to his club,” says Nemanja.
Since then, the Narančić brothers have brought home over 300 medals and trophies. They compete almost every weekend.
“We got good running genes from Aunt Mira and our mom Radmila, née Radaković—they were excellent runners.”
Over the past year, the brothers have been coached daily—2.5 to 3 hours per session—by Andrej Maras, and the results are evident. The youngest twins, Dragan and Goran, joined the Croatian national athletics team last year.
“Goran receives a scholarship—€150 a month for one year—but Dragan, who’s even better, gets nothing, just a place on the team. They recently performed well at the Balkan race in Romania. We hope to gain more sponsors so we can work less and train more. Our coach says we have great potential for marathons and long-distance events,” Nemanja says.
FIND OUT MORE:
In Croatia, he adds, running isn’t as popular or supported as it is in Serbia or Bosnia. That’s why they all still have to work full-time. So far, they have only one sponsor—a freight forwarding company owned by their uncle.
They’re also grateful to Željko Graovac, a Serbian marathoner and fellow Lika native, who helped them participate in the Belgrade Marathon.
“I would love to run for a Serbian club someday,” Nemanja says. “I’m often in Serbia—I was born there, I feel connected to it, it’s beautiful. I visit for weeks at a time. I even bought an apartment and considered moving permanently. I’d love to find a club here, see how it goes, and maybe find sponsors to support us in running here too.”
All the Narančić siblings live and work in Rijeka during the week, but on weekends, they return home to Doljani to help their parents on the farm.
“Life is a struggle, and work is part of it. But material things don’t mean more to us than family. Family always comes first,” Nemanja emphasizes.
This year, the brothers aim to compete in three more marathons in Serbia, two in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and hope to get another brother into the Croatian national team, find Serbian sponsors, and run for a Serbian club.
“Our main goal is to enjoy ourselves. Sport is joy and health. I invite everyone to give it a try. In running, age and experience don’t matter—it’s all about connecting with good people. That’s why we’re already planning to return to Serbia on June 21 for a race in Kula.”
MORE TOPICS:
BLOODY EASTER 1944: How the Allied Bombing Shrouded Belgrade in Mourning! (PHOTO, VIDEO)
Source, Foto: Sputnik Srbija