‘Golden Boy’ Stevan Micic: “Serbia is part of my blood and I couldn’t be happier to give this gold medal to the people”

There was a deafening roar in Belgrade’s Stark Arena on Monday 18 September at the 2023 Wrestling World Championships when Stevan Micic won Serbia’s first-ever men’s freestyle world title.

The 57kg grappler grew up in the United States, competing for the University of Michigan (where he was a runner-up at the 2018 NCAAs), and representing the US as a junior, before switching allegiances to his father’s homeland in 2018.

Despite this late switch, Micic has always felt a strong affinity to his Serbian roots, and a deep connection with the crowd cheering him on.

“I feel very attached to my Serbian culture, and it’s such a proud sporting nation,” Micic told Olympics.com after his victory.

“I heard everybody cheering, it must have been so hard for (final opponent) Haguchi (Rei) having to wrestle against them too!

“To be able to help bring the country success on this stage and deliver that first gold medal in freestyle wrestling means a massive amount.

Micic’s deep connection to Serbia is due to his family celebrating Serbian traditions, and their location in Northwest Indiana in the Chicago metropolitan area, which hosts the largest population of Serbians living outside of their homeland.

“The community there is very strong and often based around the Churches. Everyone is tied in and knows each other,” he said.

“We also follow the Orthodox Christian Julian calendar so our Christmas has always been on January 7th. It was great because in the US, I had two different Christmases!

“We also celebrated Saints Day, called ‘Slava’, so we grew up with lots of Church and family events based around Serbian traditions.”

His grandparents also immigrated to the US, and Micic became very close to them after speaking every day.

“My grandparents immigrated with us to the US and Serbian culture is very family-oriented, so I talked with my grandparents, my deda and baba, pretty much every day growing up.”

The Arizona-born athlete’s grandmother sadly passed away two weeks before the World Championships, and he also dedicated his victory to her.

“We were extremely close and honestly, my baba didn’t really like my wrestling too much because she was worried that I was going to get hurt. But she was also my biggest supporter and wanted what was best for me.

“She always called me her ‘Golden boy’, so this victory is for her.

Micic’s victory in Belgrade happened the hard way.

The day before his final, he had to beat a two-time world champion and reigning Olympic champion in Zaur Uguev, followed by the champion in Zelimkhan Abakarov in the semis, both of whom had beaten him previously.

He then defeated 61 kg reigning world champion Higuchi Rei in an intense final.

“I put my whole life into being a world champion. My dream since I was a little boy. I manifested it this year and visualised it every day. 

Micic was selected to compete for his adopted nation at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in 2021, but was eliminated early after a 7-0 loss to Japanese former world champion Takahashi Yuki.

With a natural weight of 61 kg, the Serb athlete failed to manage the cutting process adequately and his body suffered.

“Tokyo didn’t go the way I wanted to,” he said. “I felt sick and didn’t manage my weight very well.”

“It’s no secret that I'm really big for the weight class, but that’s not fun for me. I'd rather be at 61 kilos but my Olympic dream and passion is to win a gold medal, so I have to do what I have to do and compete at an Olympic weight class. I just have to do it the smartest way possible.

“I’ve now made weight twice and medalled at 57 kg, so I have to make sure that we are better prepared for Paris. It may never happen again so I’ve got to make it count.”

Serbian dominance

Victory in Belgrade secured another sporting triumph for Serbia this year.

Micic’s win follows Serbia’s victory in the FIBA 3x3 Basketball World Cup, two tennis Grand Slams for Novak Djokovic, and silver at the FIBA basketball World Cup.

“I’m just a small part of the sporting cog and I’m proud to represent the nation and represent my family and my heart,” he said modestly.

But how does he deal with the pressure of spearheading his nation’s challenge in this sport, and the increased media spotlight on him?

The answer lies with his father.

“Dad has always been someone that has always put me in situations where I can thrive,” Micic junior said.

“In the US we had a lot of psycho wrestling dads and people that go overboard. My dad has never been someone that has pushed me too hard and to do something I didn't ask for or want.

“If he was laying off me, I would complain and say, “Why aren’t you pushing me?”

“But thanks to him, I feel free and confident, and not too stressed at Worlds because he prepared me perfectly.”

Micic and his father are also business partners.

In March 2023, the father-son team opened the Chicago Galaxy wrestling club in March 2023 to foster the next generation of elite talent.

Given their links to the Serbian community there, this could lead to more wrestlers choosing to represent the European nation in the future.

The gold medal winners at the 2023 Wrestling World Championships were also awarded a wrestling-style belt to mark their achievement.

Having cut so much weight to compete at 57kg, Micic’s was too loose and sat well below his torso.

Luckily, he had a Serbian answer to this problem.

“I will go and have some nice sarma to celebrate tonight, which is typical Serbian food. It’s meat and rice rolled up in fermented cabbage, and it’s absolutely delicious. I can’t even explain it, you just have to try it!” he said with a huge smile.

“I can eat something heavy as there will be no more stress on my torso because I need to gain some weight and get this belt fitting properly!”

Once that’s done, however, it’ll be back to business.

“Once I’ve taken some time off over fall we will do some analysis and then lock in on the Paris 2024 Olympics. I really want to make an impact there and win a medal.”