Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
competed at the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The
Croatian Olympic Committee
The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olymp ...
( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor, ''HOO'') confirmed a roster of 87 athletes, 68 men and 19 women, to compete across 18 sports at the Games.
Croatia left Rio de Janeiro with a total of 10 medals (5 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze), finishing seventeenth in the overall standings. These Games also marked the nation's most successful outcome in Summer Olympic history since the break-up of
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
, surpassing the six medals won at
London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Three of the medals were awarded to the team in track and field, two in rowing and sailing, and one each in shooting and boxing. Croatia also proved particularly successful in traditional team sports, as the water polo players obtained the silver medal in the men's tournament, despite losing its title defense to neighboring Serbia at the final match.
Among the medalists were super heavyweight boxer
Filip Hrgović
Filip Hrgović (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer who has held the WBC International title in 2018 and the IBF International title in 2020. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships a ...
and Laser sailor
Tonči Stipanović
Tonči Stipanović (born 13 June 1986) is a Croatian sailor. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's laser class, finishing in 4th place. Stipanović won Croatia's first ever sailing Olympic medal when he came second overall to win ...
, who both secured historic first Olympic medals for Croatia in their respective sports. 470 duo Šime Fantela and Igor Marenić controlled the race ahead of their top rivals Australia and Greece to win the nation's first ever sailing title. Discus thrower
Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković (born 21 June 1990) is a Croatian discus thrower. She is a two-time Olympic (2012, 2016) and World (2013, 2017) champion and record six-time European champion ( 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022) which no other female athlete ...
successfully defended her Olympic title, while 21-year-old Sara Kolak trounced the vastly experienced field to become the women's javelin throw champion. Shooter
Josip Glasnović
Josip Glasnović (born 7 May 1983) is a Croatian sports shooter who competes in shotgun events. His biggest success was the gold medal in trap at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
He reached the trap final at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, w ...
succeeded his teammate
Giovanni Cernogoraz
Giovanni Cernogoraz (born 27 December 1982) is a Croatian sports shooter. Competing in shotgun events, he won the Olympic gold medal in men's trap at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. He was elected for Croatian Sportsman of the year by ''Sportsk ...
as the new Olympic champion in the men's trap. Brothers
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
and
Valent Sinković
Valent Sinković (born 2 August 1988) is a Croatian rower. He is the older brother of rower Martin Sinković with whom he won the gold medal in Men's double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He had previously won the silver in the men ...
fought a tough duel against Lithuania to capture a gold medal in the men's double sculls, adding it to their world and European titles over the last two years.
Croatian Olympic Committee
The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olymp ...
( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor, ''HOO'') fielded a team of 87 athletes, 68 men and 19 women, across eighteen sports at the Games; it was the nation's fourth-largest delegation sent to the Olympics, but the smallest since
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
More than 50 percent of the men's side competed in traditional team sports, with the water polo players looking to defend their Olympic title from the London Games four years earlier. Track and field accounted for the largest number of athletes on the squad by an individual-based sport, with 10 entries. There was a single competitor each in diving, judo, table tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Nine of the past Olympic medalists from the individual-based sports returned, including defending champions
Giovanni Cernogoraz
Giovanni Cernogoraz (born 27 December 1982) is a Croatian sports shooter. Competing in shotgun events, he won the Olympic gold medal in men's trap at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. He was elected for Croatian Sportsman of the year by ''Sportsk ...
(men's trap shooting) and
Sandra Perković
Sandra Perković (born 21 June 1990) is a Croatian discus thrower. She is a two-time Olympic (2012, 2016) and World (2013, 2017) champion and record six-time European champion ( 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022) which no other female athlete ...
(women's discus throw), taekwondo fighter
Lucija Zaninović
Lucija Zaninović (born 26 June 1987, in Split) is a Croatian taekwondo practitioner. She is the twin sister of taekwondo practitioner Ana Zaninović.
Zaninović won the gold medal in the women's flyweight class at the 2010 European Taekwondo C ...
(women's 49 kg), along with her twin sister Ana, rifle shooter Snježana Pejčić, gymnast
Filip Ude
Filip Ude (born 3 June 1986) is a Croatian gymnast. On 9 August 2008 he qualified for the Olympic final of the men's pommel horse at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and als ...
(men's pommel horse), and experienced high jumper
Blanka Vlašić
Blanka Vlašić (; born 8 November 1983) is a Croatian former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump. She is a two-time world champion and double Olympic medallist who ranks as the joint second highest female jumper of all time ...
. Rowers
Damir Martin
Damir Martin (born 14 July 1988) is a Croatian rower. He won silver in the men's single scull at the 2016 Olympics losing to Mahé Drysdale in a photo finish and beating the multiple time world champion Ondřej Synek. He also won silver at the ...
and brothers
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
and
Valent Sinković
Valent Sinković (born 2 August 1988) is a Croatian rower. He is the older brother of rower Martin Sinković with whom he won the gold medal in Men's double sculls at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. He had previously won the silver in the men ...
, all of whom won silver as members of the quadruple sculls crew from
London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, qualified separately for the smaller boats at the Games, with the latter two entering as reigning world champions and top medal favorites in the double sculls.
Other notable athletes on the Croatian roster included world sailing champions Šime Fantela and Igor Marenić in the men's 470 class, world-ranked tennis player
Marin Čilić
Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
, and boxing pro
Filip Hrgović
Filip Hrgović (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer who has held the WBC International title in 2018 and the IBF International title in 2020. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships a ...
(men's super heavyweight). Water polo goalkeeper
Josip Pavić
Josip Pavić (; born 15 January 1982) is a Croatian water polo player who competed in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 2012 and the silver in 2016. He was widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the 2012 Olympi ...
, who helped his team secure a gold-medal triumph in the men's tournament at London 2012, was selected by the committee as Croatia's flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
, width=78% align=left valign=top , The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games. Note that reserves in fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball and rowing are not counted as athletes:
Athletics
Croatian athletes have achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Men
;Women
Basketball
Men's tournament
Croatia men's basketball team qualified for the Olympics by securing its lone outright berth and winning the final match over Italy at the Turin leg of the 2016 FIBA World Qualifying Tournament, signifying the nation's comeback to the men's tournament after an eight-year hiatus.
;Team roster
;Group play
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;Quarterfinal
Boxing
Croatia has entered two boxers to compete in the following weight classes into the Olympic boxing tournament. Hrvoje Sep and
Filip Hrgović
Filip Hrgović (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer who has held the WBC International title in 2018 and the IBF International title in 2020. As an amateur he won the gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships a ...
were the only Croatians to be selected to the Olympic team by virtue of top two finishes of their respective division in the AIBA Pro Boxing series and World Series of Boxing.
Cycling
Road
Croatian riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the
2015 UCI Europe Tour
The 2015 UCI Europe Tour was the eleventh season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2015 season began on 29 January 2015 with the Vuelta a Mallorca, Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and ended on 25 October 2015 with the Tour of Aegean.
The points le ...
.
Diving
Croatia has received a spare continental berth freed up by South Africa from FINA to send a diver competing in the women's individual springboard to the Olympics, based on her results at the 2016 FINA World Cup series, signifying the nation's Olympic debut in the sport.
Gymnastics
Artistic
Croatia has entered two artistic gymnasts into the Olympic competition. Beijing 2008 silver medalist
Filip Ude
Filip Ude (born 3 June 1986) is a Croatian gymnast. On 9 August 2008 he qualified for the Olympic final of the men's pommel horse at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and als ...
and Ana Đerek had claimed their Olympic spots each in the men's and women's apparatus and all-around events, respectively, at the Olympic Test Event in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
.
;Men
;Women
Handball
;Summary
Men's tournament
Croatia men's handball team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of a top two finish at the third meet of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in
Herning
Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)2015 FISA World Championships in
Lac d'Aiguebelette
Lac d'Aiguebelette is a natural lake in the commune of Aiguebelette-le-Lac, within the department of Savoie, France.
Geography
Description
With a surface area of 5.45 km2 and a depth of 71 meters it is one of the largest natural lakes of Fr ...
, France.
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
Croatian sailors qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, the individual fleet Worlds, and European qualifying regattas.
;Men
;Women
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race
Shooting
Croatian shooters achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and 2015 ISSF World Championships, the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and European Championships or Games, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by 31 March 2016.
Following the completion of the two-year qualifying period, Croatia had selected a total of seven shooters to compete at the Games, including 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Snježana Pejčić and defending Olympic trap champion
Giovanni Cernogoraz
Giovanni Cernogoraz (born 27 December 1982) is a Croatian sports shooter. Competing in shotgun events, he won the Olympic gold medal in men's trap at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. He was elected for Croatian Sportsman of the year by ''Sportsk ...
.
;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
Swimming
Croatian swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):
Table tennis
Croatia has entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. Remarkably going to his third Olympics,
Andrej Gaćina
Andrej Gaćina (born 21 May 1986) is a male table tennis player from Croatia. Since 2007, he has won two medals in doubles and team events in the Table Tennis European Championships. As of August 2016, he was the number nineteenth player in the ...
was automatically selected among the top 22 eligible players in the men's singles based on the ITTF Olympic Rankings.
Taekwondo
Croatia entered three athletes into the taekwondo competition at the Olympics. Twin sisters and 2012 Olympians Lucija and Ana Zaninović qualified automatically and respectively for the women's flyweight (49 kg) and featherweight (57 kg) category by finishing in the top 6 WTF Olympic rankings. Filip Grgić secured the third spot on the Croatian team by virtue of his top two finish in the men's lightweight category (68 kg) at the 2016 European Qualification Tournament in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey.
Tennis
Croatia has entered four tennis players into the Olympic tournament. London 2012 Olympian
Marin Čilić
Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
(world no. 13) and
Borna Ćorić
Borna Ćorić (; born 14 November 1996) is a Croatian professional tennis player. On 5 November 2018, he reached his best singles ranking of world No. 12. On 21 August 2022, Ćorić became the lowest-ranked champion in Masters 1000 history when ...
(world no. 48) qualified directly for the men's singles as two of the top 56 eligible players in the ATP World Rankings as of 6 June 2016.
Having been directly entered to the singles, Čilić also opted to play with his partner
Marin Draganja
Marin Draganja (; born 13 May 1991) is a Croatian professional tennis player and competes mainly on the ATP World Tour in doubles.
Draganja reached his highest ATP singles ranking, No. 550 on 29 April 2013, and his highest ATP doubles ranking, ...
in the men's doubles. Following the withdrawal of several players, Ana Konjuh (world no. 76) received an entry on 15 July 2016.
Water polo
;Summary
Men's tournament
Croatia men's water polo team qualified for the Olympics, after reaching the final in the men's tournament at the 2015 FINA World Championships in
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
, Russia.
;Team roster
;Group play
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;Quarterfinal
;Semifinal
;Gold medal match
Weightlifting
For the first time since
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, Croatia has received an unused quota place from IWF to send a male weightlifter to the Olympics, as a response to the complete ban of the Russian weightlifting team from the Games due to "multiple positive" cases of doping.
Wrestling
Croatia has received a spare host berth freed up by Brazil as the next highest-ranked eligible nation, not yet qualified, to send a wrestler competing in the men's Greco-Roman 75 kg to the Olympics, based on the results from the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
.
;Men's Greco-Roman
References
External links
*
{{Country at games navbox, Croatia, Olympics
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...