ATHLETES from Montenegro

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Montenegrin Athletes of all time. This list of famous Montenegrin Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Montenegrin Athletes.

1. Dejan Dabović (1944 - 2020)

With an HPI of 54.38, Dejan Dabović is the most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Dejan Dabović (Дејан Дабовић, 3 August 1944 – 6 December 2020) was a Yugoslav water polo player notable for winning a gold medal in Mexico City in 1968, with the Yugoslavian water polo team. Dabović was born in Herceg Novi and died from COVID-19 in Belgrade, at age 76 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia.

2. Rafael Quintero (1940 - 2006)

With an HPI of 40.20, Rafael Quintero is the 2nd most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 2 different languages.

Rafael "Chi Chi" Quintero Ibaria (September 16, 1940 – October 1, 2006) was a CIA operative.

3. Dušan Mandić (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 37.84, Dušan Mandić is the 3rd most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Dušan Mandić (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Мандић; born 16 June 1994) is a Serbian water polo player who plays for Ferencváros. He was a part of the Montenegrin junior water polo team before opting to play for Serbia. With Serbian junior national team he won a gold medal at the 2011 Junior Water Polo World Championship. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the Serbia men's national water polo team in the men's event,winning bronze. He has won three gold medals for Serbia at the Olympics, the most recent one coming in Paris in 2024. He was also named MVP of the tournament in Paris as well.

4. Aleksandar Ivović (b. 0)

With an HPI of 37.80, Aleksandar Ivović is the 4th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Aleksandar Ivović, (born 24 February 1986) is a Montenegrin professional water polo player. He started his career at PVK Jadran, which is his first senior team to compete for. He was a member of the Montenegro men's national water polo team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The team reached the semifinals, where they were defeated by Hungary and then lost to Serbia in the bronze medal match. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was again a member of Montenegro's team, where they lost to Croatia in the semi-final, and then lost to Serbia again in the bronze medal match, this time 11–12. He is considered one of the best defenders of all time and by many the top in his position in the world as he can transform the entire defense of his team.

5. Draško Brguljan (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 36.21, Draško Brguljan is the 5th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Draško Brguljan (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Драшко Бргуљан; born 27 December 1984) is a Montenegrin water polo player who is a free agent. He was a member of the Montenegro men's national water polo team at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The team reached the semifinals, where they were defeated by Hungary before losing again to Serbia in the bronze medal match. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he again played for Montenegro, who were again defeated by Serbia in the bronze medal match, losing 11–12. Brguljan was given the honour to carry the national flag of Montenegro at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the 27th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

6. Danijel Furtula (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 27.38, Danijel Furtula is the 6th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 9 different languages.

Danijel Furtula (born 31 July 1992 in Mojkovac) is a Montenegrin discus thrower who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics, coming in 20th in qualification group 2 and not advancing. He won gold at the 2012 European Cup Winter Throwing in the under-23 category.

7. Uroš Čučković (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 26.96, Uroš Čučković is the 7th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 9 different languages.

Uroš Čučković (Serbian Cyrillic: Урош Чучковић; born 25 April 1990) is a Montenegrin professional water polo player. He was part of the Montenegrin team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team finished in fourth place. He is 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) tall and weighs 227 lb (103 kg).

8. Milivoj Dukić (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 18.54, Milivoj Dukić is the 8th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 3 different languages.

Milivoj Dukić (Миливој Дукић, born 26 March 1993) is a Montenegrin sailor. He competed at the 2012, 2016 and 2021 Summer Olympics in the men's Laser class. He was chosen as one of the flag-bearers for the Montenegro team at the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

9. Stefan Vidović (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 12.69, Stefan Vidović is the 9th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 3 different languages.

Stefan Vidović (born 8 August 1992) is a Montenegrin water polo player. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

10. Dušan Matković (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 12.35, Dušan Matković is the 10th most famous Montenegrin Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 4 different languages.

Dušan Matković (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Матковић; born 1 February 1999) is a Montenegrin water polo player. He competed in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics. Matković was given the honour to carry the national flag of Montenegro at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the 30th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. He is currently playing for Jadran.