Danilo Ikodinović

Danilo Ikodinović

Personal information
Born	October 4, 1976 Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia
Medal record Men's Water Polo Representing  Yugoslavia  Serbia and Montenegro  Serbia Men's Water Polo Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team Competition 2000 Sydney Team Competition World Championships 2005 Montréal Team Competition 2001 Fukuoka Team Competition 1998 Perth Team Competition 2003 Barcelona Team Competition European Championship 2001 Budapest Team Competition 2003 Kranj Team Competition 2006 Belgrade Team Competition 1997 Seville Team Competition FINA World League 2005 Belgrade Team Competition 2006 Athens Team Competition 2008 Genova Team Competition 2004 Long Beach Team Competition FINA World Cup 2006 Budapest Team Competition 2002 Belgrade Team Competition Mediterranean Games 1997 Bari Team Competition

Danilo “Dača” Ikodinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Данило Икодиновић - Дача, born October 4, 1976 in Belgrade, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former Serbian water polo player who played on the bronze medal squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics (with Yugoslavia) and the silver medal squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics (with Serbia and Montenegro). He received a Golden Badge, award for the best athlete in Serbia and Montenegro.

Club career

He spent the 2005/06 season playing for VK Partizan. He appeared for the Serbian national water polo team in 304 matches, scoring 299 goals. In 2006, he appeared as a model in an underwear campaign for ExtremeIntimo. During the summer of 2006 he signed for Russian club Sintez Kazan. In his first season in Sintez Kazan, Ikodinović led the team to 2006/07 LEN Cup trophy^[1] as well as the Russian league title. In late March 2008, he reached an agreement with PVK Jadran to play for them in 2008/09 season.^[2]

Clubs he played for

• 1992–1998 VK Partizan
• 1998–1999 ASN Catania
• 1999–2001 AN Brescia
• 2001–2005 Pro Recco
• 2005–2006 VK Partizan
• 2006–2008 Sintez
• 2008–2009 PVK Jadran

Honours

Club

VK Partizan

• National Championship of Yugoslavia (1): 1994–95
• National Cup of Yugoslavia (3): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
• LEN Cup (1): 1997–98

Pro Recco

• Serie A1 (1): 2001–02
• Trofeo del Giocatore (1): 2003
• LEN Euroleague (1): 2002–03
• LEN Supercup (1): 2004

Sintez Kazan

• National Championship of Russia (1): 2006–07
• LEN Cup (1): 2006–07

Individual

• LEN Euroleague Final Four MVP (1): 2003 Genova
• Golden Badge (1): 2005

Personal

In 2000, Ikodinović married his girlfriend Anja who later that year gave birth to their daughter Andrea. The couple divorced in 2003.^[3]

For a few months during 2004, he dated professional karate fighter Snežana Perić. The relationship was high profile with coverage in Serbian tabloids and lifestyle magazines.^[4]

Later that year Ikodinović hooked up with Serbian pop singer Nataša Bekvalac. Once the relationship became public on New Year's 2005^[5] it inspired even more press coverage. In July 2006 the couple married in Sremski Karlovci. They have a daughter named Hana who was born in March 2007 while Danilo was playing at the World Championships in Melbourne.^[6] The couple divorced in January 2011.

Motorcycle accident

On Friday, June 27, 2008, around 8:20pm, Ikodinović was involved in a traffic accident while riding his Yamaha R1 motorcycle on Zrenjanin-Novi Sad regional road near the town of Kać. He had been transferred to intensive care in Novi Sad where he got immediately taken in for surgery that ended up lasting almost eight hours. As a result his condition was stabilized, but remained critical.^[7] Apparently, of the numerous injuries he sustained, the heaviest trauma occurred on his right arm with severe tearing of blood vessels (nerves and arteries).^[8]

In the evening hours of June 28, almost twenty four hours following the accident, he underwent another vascular surgery on his arm.^[9] His condition has since improved.

Investigation of the crash finished by mid November 2008 and it determined that Ikodinović was driving at a speed of 173 km/h while having blood alcohol content of over 2 per mil (considered to be the medium level of alcoholic intoxication) when he hit from behind the Yugo driven by Pajica Dejanović that was overtaking a tractor driven by Miroslav Kukić.^[10]

Ikodinović was charged with violating traffic safety. His case went before a judge in Novi Sad Municipal Court on March 5, 2009^[11] where he was found guilty of causing the accident and got ordered to pay RSD70,000 (around €760 according to the exchange rate at the time). He also received an eight-month ban on driving a motorcycle.^[12] District public persecutor submitted an appeal on the court's decision due to not being satisfied with the amount of the fine.

The damages part of the case was settled out of court on May 26, 2009, which is when Ikodinović paid a sum to Pajica Dejanović that was in some media outlets reported to be €6,000.

Notes

1. Vaterpolo: Ruski Sintez osvojio LEN kup, MTS Mondo, May 24, 2007
2. Dača na Jadranu, Večernje novosti, March 31, 2008
3. Teško nam je, Kurir, June 30, 2008
4. Snežana Perić predala meč Dači Ikodinoviću!, Svet, June 18, 2004
5. Odlepio čovek!, Kurir, January 8, 2005
6. Hana više voli Natašu, Blic, April 30, 2007
7. Najvažniji meč Dače Ikodinovića, MTS Mondo, June 28, 2008
8. Borba za život Danila Ikodinovića, Blic, June 29, 2008
9. Ikodinović ponovo operisan, B92, June 28, 2008
10. Završena istraga nesreće kod Kaća - Ikodinović vozio 173 na sat, Blic, November 17, 2008
11. Dača Ikodinović pred sudom 5. marta, MTS Mondo, January 28, 2009
12. Danilo Ikodinović: Sve ono o čemu sam ćutao..., Story, June 2009

External links

• Serbian Olympic Committee (Serbian) (English)