Luciano Sušanj Award

Luciano Sušanj (November 10, 1948 – April 14, 2024) was a celebrated athlete from Rijeka, remembered in history as the greatest Croatian athlete of all time and a true European athletics legend. During his illustrious career, he specialized in middle-distance events, particularly the 800-meter race. His greatest achievement came in 1974, when he won the gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Rome, becoming the European champion. With a time of 1:44.07, he also set a Croatian record in the 800 meters, which remains unbroken to this day. Two years later, at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, he finished sixth in the same event. Sušanj also competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, reaching the semifinals in the 800 meters. He won the gold medal in the 800 meters at the 1974 European Indoor Championships and also took gold in the 400 meters at the 1973 European Indoor Championships. Beyond his outstanding sports career, Sušanj made a lasting impact as a sports official, contributing not only to athletics but to Croatian sports as a whole. For his efforts, he received numerous national, regional, and local accolades. Of particular importance is the fact that Luciano Sušanj was one of the initiators and conceptual founders of the "Homo si teć" event.

About the "Luciano Sušanj" Award

In his honor, the organizing committee of the "Homo si teć / Rijeka Run" sports and recreation festival established the "Luciano Sušanj" award in 2025 for the most successful young Croatian male and female athletes (U23 category). The award consists of a Sport Vision voucher worth 250 euros, given to the best male and female competitors who meet all the award criteria.

The selection criterion for the most successful Croatian U23 athlete is the cumulative result based on rankings in at least two and up to three races during the current Rijeka Run season (relay races are not considered).

Points are awarded for the top 50 placements in the overall ranking of races: 1st place earns 50 points, 2nd place earns 49 points, and so on, with 50th place earning 1 point. Points for the half marathon are worth 50% more, meaning 1st place earns 75 points, and 50th place earns 1.5 points.

In the event of a tie in points, the prize is divided equally among the competitors with the same result.

Mjesto u poretku	Broj bodova za utrke 539 skok, ML trk, Desetka i Erste Petica	Broj bodova za polumaraton (21 km)
1.	50	75
2.	49	73,5
3.	48	72
4.	47	70,5
5.	46	69
6.	45	67,5
7.	44	66
8.	43	64,5
9.	42	63
10.	41	61,5
11.	40	60
12.	39	58,5
13.	38	57
14.	37	55,5
15.	36	54
16.	35	52,5
17.	34	51
18.	33	49,5
19.	32	48
20.	31	46,5
21.	30	45
22.	29	43,5
23.	28	42
24.	27	40,5
25.	26	39
26.	25	37,5
27.	24	36
28.	23	34,5
29.	22	33
30.	21	31,5
31.	20	30
32.	19	28,5
33.	18	27
34.	17	25,5
35.	16	24
36.	15	22,5
37.	14	21
38.	13	19,5
39.	12	18
40.	11	16,5
41.	10	15
42.	9	13,5
43.	8	12
44.	7	10,5
45.	6	9
46.	5	7,5
47.	4	6
48.	3	4,5
49.	2	3
50.	1	1,5