Franjo Mihalić

1958 Boston Marathon Another highlight of Mihalić's career came in the 1958 Boston Marathon race, held on an unusually warm day. He scored a decisive victory over the field, besting the defending champion John J. Kelley who took second place by nearly five minutes, and leaving the third-placed Einno Pulkkinen more than 11 minutes behind. Mihalić's winning time of 2:25:54 was five minutes short of Kelley's course record established in the previous year, but was still impressive given the hot weather in which the race was held. The "heat-loving Yugoslav's" successes in hot conditions were attributed to his unusual habit of training in the middle of the day, between noon and 2 pm.

Mihalić's 1958 Boston Marathon win was the first – and, , the only – by a male athlete from the former communist state.

Later career and retirement Mihalić participated in the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, finishing 12th, in a time of 2:21:52.6.

Veteran career Mihalić participated in 10 km runs until his late 70s. He had to quit running on doctor's orders in the early 2000s when he severely injured his knee in the Cer-Šabac race.

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