Sport in Croatia has significant role in

Croatian culture The culture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croatian people The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Croatia, culture, Histo ...

, and many local sports clubs as well as the Croatian national squads enjoy strong followings in the country. The most enduring sport by far in Croatia is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and is played on amateur and professional levels amongst all age groups across the entire country. Several other major team sports are

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

, basketball and water polo, with clubs in all parts of Croatia. Ice hockey is another popular team sport, namely in the Croatian interior. The most popular individual sports in Croatia are tennis,

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

, and swimming, and to some extent table tennis and chess. Various amateur sport games are popular in Croatia, notably picigin.

History

Franjo Bučar (1866–1946) is widely considered to be the father of modern Croatian sport. He founded the

Croatian Sports Association Croatian Sports Association ('' Croatian: Hrvatski športski savez'') was founded on October 5, 1909 (according to some sources on October 8, 1909) in Zagreb at the in a "Grič" as the central sports organization that coordinated the work of clubs ...

in 1909 within what was then the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Bučar introduced a multitude of mainstream sports in Croatia, such as

, ice skating and ice hockey, as well as gymnastics and fencing. The Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport, the Republic of Croatia's highest award in the development of sport, is named in his honor. With the exception of the years during the World War Two Independent State of Croatia, Croatian club and national teams first represented the Republic of Croatia at the start of the 1990s, with the formation of the

Croatian national football team The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football ...

and its first match against the United States in 1990.

Team sports

Association football

Croatia's post-match huddle after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in Croatia, and is governed by the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation ( hr, Hrvatski nogometni savez, HNS) is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIF ...

. The

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

is the top division of the country's football league system, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second ...

. Dinamo Zagreb is the country's most successful football club and the 2019 champion, with 20 total championships, followed by

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

with 6 championships (last one in 2005). The rivalry between these two clubs is known as the Eternal Derby in Croatia, with the two clubs combining to win all but one of the 20 championships ever contested in the league's history. The Prva HNL is ranked 17th league in Europe by UEFA, and Dinamo Zagreb is the highest-ranked Croatian club in Europe, occupying the 77th spot. The

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup * Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup *Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...

is the main knock-out tournament in Croatian football, and has also been dominated by Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split. The Croatian Supercup is contested between the champions of the Prva HNL and the Croatian Cup. No Croatian club has ever won the UEFA Champions League, however Hajduk Split, at the time Croatia's premier club, made it to the quarter-finals of the 1994–95 league, losing on aggregate to eventual champion Ajax. The Croatia national football team won a bronze medal in the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

and a silver medal in the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

and a bronze medal in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

. Davor Šuker won the Golden Boot as the top goalscorer in 1998 and Luka Modrić won the

Golden Ball Golden Ball may refer to: Awards * Golden Ball Award, FIFA competition award for best player of tournament ** FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, FIFA World Cup award for best player of tournament ** FIFA U-20 World Cup#A ...

as the best player of the tournament in 2018. The national football team has also played in the quarter-finals of the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and the 2008 European Championships. As of August 2018, the team was ranked 4th in the FIFA World Rankings. Today, Croatia's most popular footballers include Luka Modrić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivica Olić,

Darijo Srna Darijo Srna (; born 1 May 1982) is a Croatian former professional footballer and current director of football of Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. During most of his career he played as a right wing-back. He began his career at Haj ...

, Ivan Perišić,

Ivan Klasnić Ivan Klasnić (; born 29 January 1980) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with local side FC St. Pauli, and moved to Werder Bremen in 2001 after helping his previous team to promotion to th ...

Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a winger or second striker. As of 5 May 2021, he works as an assistant to Josip Šimu ...

, Ivan Rakitić and Vedran Ćorluka, as well as foreign-born Josip Šimunić, Eduardo da Silva and

Sammir Jorge Sammir Cruz Campos (born 23 April 1987), commonly known as Sammir, is a Brazilian-Croatian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Born in Brazil, Sammir became a naturalized Croatian citizen and has been ca ...

. In August 2012, Modrić was acquired by Spanish giants and 31-time La Liga champions

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

for a deal totalling over £33 million, and he made his debut as a substitute in Real's 2–1 victory over

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

rivals FC Barcelona.

Team handball

CRO_-_ISL_(01)_-_2010_European_Men%27s_Handball_Championship

Historically, Croatia has been a prolific nation in

, both in the success of its club handball, as well as with the achievements of the Croatian national squad. At the start of the 2nd half of the 20th century,

RK Bjelovar RK Bjelovar (Rukometni Klub Bjelovar) is a team handball club from Bjelovar, Croatia formed in 1955. The club currently competes in the Croatian Second League of Handball (North) and the Croatian Handball Cup. During Communist Yugoslavia, the cl ...

dominated Croatian handball, and in the 1970s won five Yugoslav league championships. In 1972 RK Bjelovar won the EHF Champions League, Europe's greatest handball competition, and reached the final the following year. A smaller city, Bjelovar's reign of successes can be likened to that of the storied Vince Lombardi–

era An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

of the National Football League, as the town of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, the smallest NFL market in the United States, brought home five league championships in the 1960s. Since Croatian independence, RK Zagreb has been the nation's premier handball club. It has won every

Croatian First Handball League The Croatian Handball Premier League ( hr, Hrvatska rukometna premijer liga) is the highest men's handball league in Croatia. It is organized by the Croatian Handball Federation (''Hrvatski rukometni savez''). The league comprises 16 teams. The ...

championship that has been contested, 28 in all. The club has reached the EHF Champions League finals six times, winning consecutively in 1992 and 1993. In 2008, the club acquired Croatian star

Ivano Balić Ivano Balić (; born 1 April 1979) is a Croatian former professional handballer who is currently working as assistant coach (sport), coach of the Croatia men's national handball team, Croatia national handball team. He was voted five times in a ...

, considered the best handballer of all time. The Croatia men's national handball team is currently ranked 10th in the world by the International Handball Federation. At the

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Croatia won gold medals in men's handball. The squad also has won the

2003 World Men's Handball Championship The 2003 World Men's Handball Championship took place in Portugal from 20 January to 2 February 2003. It was the 18th edition of the World Championship in team handball and Croatia won the championship. Qualification First round Group A ...

and came in second at the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

world championships, as well as at the 2009 World Championship as hosts, losing in the final to France. Croatia also came in third at the 1994 World Championship and second at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2010 European championships. Croatia will once host the world handball tournament in

2025 Predicted and scheduled events *January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1929 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** The American FAA will have been imp ...

, along Denmark and Norway.

Basketball

The Croatia national basketball team has won a silver medal at the 1992 Olympic basketball tournament, bronze medal at the 1994 World Championship and bronze medals at EuroBasket 1993 and EuroBasket 1995. Croatian basketball clubs were EuroLeague champions five times:

KK Split Košarkaški klub Split ( en, Split Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League. History The c ...

three times (1989, 1990 and 1991) and KK Cibona in 1985 and 1986. Croatian basketball players such as Krešimir Ćosić, Dino Rađa and

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...

were amongst the first foreign players to succeed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States. One of the most notable Croatian basketballers was Dražen Petrović, who died in a car accident in June 1993. He is considered a crucial part of the vanguard to the present-day mass influx of European players into the NBA and he was posthumously enshrined in the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

.NBA.com
Drazen Petrovic
/ref> In 2013, he was voted the best European Basketball player in history, by players at the

2013 FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

.CroatiaWeek.co
The Best European Basketballer Ever
/ref>

Water polo

The

Croatia national water polo team The Croatia men's national water polo team represents Croatia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the Croatian Water Polo Federation. They have won gold medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships, FINA Worl ...

won gold medals in the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and 2017 World Championships, and bronze medals in the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and 2011 World Championships. The team also won gold at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and silver at the

and

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 ...

, as well as gold at the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and silvers in the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and 2003 European Championships. Croatian water polo clubs were 13 times LEN Champions League champions. HAVK Mladost from Zagreb is a seven time European champion (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1990, 1991 and 1996) and was awarded the title ''Best Club of the 20th Century'' by the

LEN Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ *Le ...

. VK Jug from Dubrovnik and VK Jadran from Split are both three time European champions, while POŠK, also from Split, is a European champion from 1999.

Rugby union

Rugby union in pre-independence Croatia was a moderately popular sport, but due to its recent international successes, it is gaining more recognition. Some people date the start of Croatian rugby to 17 January 1954 when the Mladost team from Zagreb was formed to become Croatia's first Rugby Club. Croatian sides competed in the Rugby Championship of Yugoslavia, which ran from 1957–1991. Croatia was something of a centre of rugby union in Yugoslavia before it gained its independence. The biggest rugby " scrum" in the world was made on 14 Oct 2007, in Croatia, with over 200 players of all categories from Croatian rugby club Nada, for a Millennium Photo.

Australian Rules Football

Is gaining popularity mainly due to the University of Zagreb. Four teams currently play out of Zagreb and one out of Slavonski Brod whilst a team from Graz in Austria also competes in the CEAFL. Topper in FIFA 2018.

Ice hockey

Introduced at the start of the 20th century, ice hockey became one of Croatia's first organized and federated sports, with Franjo Bučar's founding of the ''Association for Skating and Ice Hockey'', the precursor to the modern Croatian Ice Hockey Federation. From the late 1930s until Croatia's independence, Croatian ice hockey clubs competed in the Yugoslav Hockey League, with Croatia's most successful club KHL Medveščak Zagreb winning the championship three consecutive times from 1988 to 1990. Ice hockey is particularly popular in the interior regions of Croatia's

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

, Slavonia, Zagreb and

Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian for "backland" or "behind the hills") is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica Mountain. It compris ...

, where winters are as cold as in more prolific hockey nations such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Today, KHL Medveščak competes in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League or KHL, the top-tier Russian tournament and the 2nd highest-ranking ice hockey league in the world. Before joining KHL, Medveščak played in the Austrian EBEL, Medveščak debuted in EBEL in the 2009 season and it has qualified for the playoffs every year. Medveščak joined the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2013–14 season.

Volleyball

Croatia women's national volleyball team , 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 ...

won silver medals three times at European Volleyball Championship in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

and

Individual sports

Goran Ivanisevic serve Wimbledon 2004 (cropped)

Janica Kostelić is the most successful female

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. She is the only woman to win four gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics Alpine skiing events (in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

), and the only woman to win three alpine skiing gold medals in one Olympics (

). She also won two silver medals in

. Janica was the World Cup overall champion in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, and

. On February 5, 2006 Janica became only the second female skier to win all five disciplines in one season. She also holds the record for the highest number of points in one World Cup season. In 2006 she won Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year. Her elder brother Ivica Kostelić was the 2003 World Champion in slalom and the Men's Overall Champion at the

2011 Alpine Skiing World Cup Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

, and as of 14 February 2014 is a four-time Winter Olympic silver medalist himself. Blanka Vlašić is the best-known Croatian track and field athlete; she specialises in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. She is

and 2009 World Champion. Blanka is also 2008 World Indoor Champion, 2008 Olympic silver medalist and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist. Her personal best is (which is only 1 cm less than the world record) set in Zagreb on August 31, 2009. Goran Ivanišević became the first ever wildcard to win

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

when he won his first and only Grand Slam title in

. He was previously a three time runner-up at the event. Croatia also won

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

on two occasions in

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Other Grand Slam champions from Croatia include 2014 US Open champion Marin Čilić and

1997 French Open The 1997 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 26 May until 8 June. It was the 101st staging of the French Open, and the second Gran ...

champion

Iva Majoli Iva Majoli-Marić (born 12 August 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won seven ot ...

Croatian athletes have had considerable success in individual sports as well, where they represented Croatia in international competitions at the highest level. These sports include: * Alpine skiing ** Janica Kostelić, Ivica Kostelić,

Natko Zrnčić-Dim Natko Zrnčić-Dim (; born 7 March 1986) is a Croatian alpine ski coach and retired World Cup skier. He won a bronze medal in super combined at the World Championships in 2009 at Val-d'Isère, France, and is a member of SK Medveščak. Born ...

, Ana Jelušić, Nika Fleiss, Sofija Novoselić,

Vedran Pavlek Vedran Pavlek (born 27 April 1973 in Zagreb) is a former Croatian World Cup Alpine ski racer. He has been Director of the Croatian Alpine Ski Team and the Croatian Alpine Ski Pool in the Croatian Ski Association since 1998. Life and career Vedr ...

* Archery ** Ivana Buden * Athletics ** Blanka Vlašić,

Branko Zorko Branko Zorko (born 1 July 1967) is a Croatian retired middle distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. Zorko competed in the 1500 metres in five Olympic Games, from 1988 to 2004, making it through to the semi-finals in 1992 and 1996. He ...

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 ...

Ana Šimić Ana Šimić (born 5 May 1990) is a Croatian athlete who competes in the high jump. She competed at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. Her personal best is , set in August 2014 at the European Athletics Championships in Zürich Zürich () ...

, Ivan Horvat,

Lisa Stublić Lisa Christina Nemec (née Stublić; born May 18, 1984) is a Croatian American long-distance runner. Born and raised in the United States, where she competed for the Columbia University, Stublić moved to Croatia, her father's homeland, and est ...

Sara Kolak Sara Kolak (born 22 June 1995) is a Croatian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her personal best of 68.43 m, set in 2017, is the Croatian record. It also ranks her tenth on t ...

Stipe Žunić Stipe Žunić (born 13 December 1990) is a Croatian athlete specialising in the shot put, having switched from the javelin throw in 2013. He finished third at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics, fourth at the 2014 European Athletics Champio ...

Siniša Ergotić Siniša Ergotić (born 14 September 1968) is a Croatian long jumper. He won the gold medal the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis and the silver medal at the 2002 European Championships in Athletics in Munich. He has competed at three consecutiv ...

, Franjo Mihalić,

Ivan Gubijan Ivan Gubijan (14 June 1923 – 4 January 2009) was a Yugoslav hammer thrower. He competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and placed second and ninth, respectively. He is credited with introducing the four-turn throwing technique, which is widel ...

* Biathlon **

Jakov Fak Jakov Fak (born 1 August 1987) is a Croatian biathlete competing for Slovenia since 2010. As a member of the Croatian biathlon team, Fak won bronze medals at the 2009 World Championships and at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where he was also the C ...

(now competes for Slovenia) * Boxing **

Željko Mavrović Željko Mavrović (; ; born 17 February 1969) is a Croatian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 1998. In 1998, as an undefeated challenger, he faced Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title, but lost in what would be his fin ...

Stipe Drviš Stipe Drews (born Stipe Drviš, 8 June 1973) is a retired Croatian professional boxer. He won the WBA's version of the world light heavyweight championship title on 27 April 2007. Amateur career As an amateur he took part at the European cha ...

Mate Parlov Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian boxer and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional. Background Mate Parlov was born in Split, the youngest of four c ...

Hrvoje Sep Hrvoje Sep (born 26 February 1986) is a Croatian professional boxer. Amateur career He was boxing for BK Leonardo under Leonardo Pjetraj. Sep was 6 times champion of Croatia (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016), two times runner-up (2012, 201 ...

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 ...

Damir Škaro Damir Škaro (born 2 November 1959) is a former Croatian amateur Boxing, boxer who won the Olympic medalists in boxing, Light Heavyweight Bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul for Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

Alen Babić Alen Babić (born 17 November 1990) is a Croatian professional boxer. He has challenged once for the WBC bridgerweight title in 2023. As an amateur, he competed at the 2017 European Championships in the heavyweight event. Amateur career Bab ...

, George Chuvalo/Jure Čuvalo * Canoeing ** Matija Ljubek,

Danko Herceg Danko Herceg (born 30 August 1974 in Zagreb) is a Croatian slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1990 to 2010. He was junior world champion in 1990 and he won a silver medal in the C1 team event at the 1995 ICF Canoe Slal ...

* Chess,

Zdenko Kožul Zdenko Kožul (born 21 May 1966) is a Croatian chess player. He holds the title of grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster and was the 2006 European champion. Chess career Born in the north-western Bosnian town of Bihać (then Socialist Federal Republi ...

, Ivan Šarić, Antonio Radić (most subscribed chess content creator on Youtube) * Cycling **

Robert Kišerlovski Robert Kišerlovski (born 9 August 1986) is a Croatian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and squads. Career At the 2011 Paris–Nice, Kišerlovski crashed on a slipper ...

, Kristijan Đurasek * Gymnastics **

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 ...

, Marijo Možnik, Tin Srbić, Robert Seligman * Figure skating **

Sanda Dubravčić Sanda Dubravčić-Šimunjak (born 24 August 1964) is a Croatian physician and former figure skater who competed internationally for Yugoslavia. She is the 1981 European silver medalist. Personal life Sanda Dubravčić was born on 24 August 1964 ...

Idora Hegel Idora Hegel (born 13 April 1983, in Zagreb) is a Croatian former competitive figure skater. She is the 2004 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion and a seven-time (2000–05, 2007) Croatian national champion. She represented 2002 Winter Olympics in S ...

Tomislav Čižmešija Tomislav Čižmešija (born 31 August 1968) is a Croatian retired figure skater who competed internationally for both Croatia and SFR Yugoslavia. He was Croatia's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, the ...

Željka Čižmešija Željka Čižmešija (born 19 October 1970) is a Croatian retired figure skater. She placed as high as 11th at the European Championships (1987, 1989) and competed at two Winter Olympics (1988, 1992). She was the first woman to represent Croatia a ...

* Kickboxing ** Branko Cikatić, Mirko Filipović, Antonio Plazibat * Mixed martial arts ** Mirko Filipović, Stipe Miočić, Roberto Soldić * Rowing **

Nikša Skelin Nikša Skelin (born 25 March 1978, in Split) is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capi ...

Siniša Skelin Siniša Skelin (born 14 July 1974, in Split) is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the cap ...

, Martin Sinković, Valent Sinković, David Šain, Damir Martin,

Igor Boraska Igor Boraska (born September 26, 1970 in Split) is a Croatian rower who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Early life Igor Boraska was born on September 26, 1970 in Split, SR Croatia, Yu ...

Tihomir Franković Tihomir Franković (born 30 September 1970) is a Croatian rower who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His teammates were Igor Boraska, Nikša Skelin, Siniša Skelin, Branimir Vujević, Kr ...

Krešimir Čuljak Krešimir Čuljak (born 18 September 1970 in Zagreb) is a Croatian rower, who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His teammates were Igor Boraska, Nikša Skelin, Siniša Skelin, Branimir ...

Igor Francetić Igor Francetić (born 21 April 1977 in Zagreb) is a Croatian rower who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His teammates were Igor Boraska, Nikša Skelin, Siniša Skelin, Branimir Vujević, Kr ...

Branimir Vujević Branimir Vujević (born 29 November 1974 in Zadar) is a Croatian rower who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. His teammates were Igor Boraska, Nikša Skelin, Siniša Skelin, Krešimir Čulj ...

Tomislav Smoljanović Tomislav Smoljanović (born 15 July 1977) is a Croatian medical scientist, physician, and a retired rower. Smoljanović won bronze at the 2000 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2001 World Championships as a member of the national eights team. ...

Silvijo Petriško Silvijo Petriško (born 20 November 1979 in Zagreb) is a Croatian rower, who won a bronze medal in the eights competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He was the coxswain of the team, compromising Igor Francetić, Igor Boraska, N ...

* Sailing **

Šime Fantela Šime Fantela (born 19 January 1986) is a Croatian professional sailor. Competing in the 470 class with Igor Marenić, he won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, and three European Championships (2009, 2011, 2012). ...

Igor Marenić Igor Marenić (born 2 January 1986) is a Croatian professional sailor. Competing in the 470 class with Šime Fantela, he won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2009 World Championships, and three European Championships (2009, 2011, 2012). ...

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 ...

Tina Mihelić Tina Mihelić (born 30 December 1988 in Rijeka) is a Croatian sports sailor. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's Laser Radial class, finishing in 17th place. In the same event at the 2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 ...

Enia Ninčević Enia Ninčević (born 9 July 1990) is a Croatian sports sailor. She was born in Split, Croatia. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the women's 470 class where, alongside crewmate Romana Župan Romana Župan (born 22 May 1987) is a ...

Romana Župan Romana Župan (born 22 May 1987) is a Croatian sports sailor. She was born in Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is s ...

, Pavle Kostov,

Petar Cupać Petar Cupać (born 1 February 1980) is a Croatian sailor. He competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the 49er class. Together with his teammates Pavle Kostov and Ivan Bulaja, he is a recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin medal The P ...

, Ivan Kljaković-Gašpić * Shooting ** Giovanni Cernogoraz,

Snježana Pejčić Snježana Pejčić (born 13 July 1982) is a Croatian athlete who competes in shooting. Her first notable success was winning silver at the Juniors European Shooting Championship in Thessaloniki in 2002, and she won second place at an ISSF World C ...

, Josip Glasnović,

Anton Glasnović Anton Glasnović (born 18 January 1981) is a Croatian sports shooter who competes in shotgun events. His biggest success to date was reaching the trap final at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His also won a gold medal in team trap along wit ...

, Petar Gorša * Swimming **

Miloš Milošević Miloš ("Mićo") Milošević (born 10 May 1972) is a swimmer from Croatia. His best swimming discipline was butterfly stroke, but he also competed in freestyle and backstroke. Miloš Milošević was born in Split to an ethnic Serb family. He ...

Duje Draganja Duje Draganja (; born 27 February 1983) is a retired Croatian swimmer who won the silver medal in men's 50 metres freestyle race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Career Draganja won a silver medal in 2005 World Aquatics Champio ...

Gordan Kožulj Gordan Kožulj (born 28 November 1976) is a former backstroke swimmer from Croatia. During his sporting career, Gordan achieved numerous successes some of them are: US (1998), Europe (2000, 2001, 2002) and World (2000) swimming championship tit ...

Sanja Jovanović Sanja Jovanović (born 15 September 1986 in Dubrovnik) is a female backstroke swimmer from Croatia, who made her Olympic debut for her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There she competed in the 100 m and 200 m backs ...

Đurđica Bjedov Đurđa "Đurđica" Bjedov (born 5 April 1947) is a retired Croatian swimmer and the only Yugoslav Olympic champion in swimming. Bjedov never won a medal at major international competitions, except for the 1968 Olympics, where she finished fir ...

Mihovil Španja Mihovil Španja (born 20 April 1984) is a retired Croatian Paralympic swimmer. In 2021, the Croatian Olympic Committee The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian ...

Mario Todorović Mario Todorović (born 11 October 1988 in Dubrovnik, Croatia) is a Croatian swimmer. He competed in the 100m butterfly and 4 × 100 m medley relay events at the 2008 Summer Olympics and in the 50 m freestyle event at the 2012 File ...

Saša Imprić Saša Imprić (born January 9, 1986 in Zagreb) is a medley swimmer and from Croatia, who made his Olympic debut for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθ� ...

, Matea Samardžić * Table tennis **

Zoran Primorac Zoran Primorac (born 10 May 1969) is a retired male table tennis player from Croatia. He is a two-time winner of the World Cup and one of only three table tennis players to have competed at seven Olympic Games. His highest ITTF world ranking w ...

Tamara Boroš Tamara Boroš (born 19 December 1977) is a Croatian table tennis player. She is one of the relatively rare European players who competed at the highest level of the sport together with the players from the Far East. Boroš was born in a Hungari ...

Dragutin Šurbek Dragutin Šurbek (8 August 1946 – 15 July 2018) was a Croatian and Yugoslav table tennis player and coach. Career Šurbek won two World Championship titles in the men's doubles event. He won gold medals in 1979 (with Antun Stipančić) and ...

Antun Stipančić Antun "Tova" Stipančić (Duga Resa, 18 May 1949 – Zagreb, 20 November 1991) was a highly accomplished Croatian / Yugoslav professional table tennis player. Table Tennis career He was one of the most renowned personalities in the history of t ...

Sandra Paović Sandra Paović (born 15 April 1983) is a former Croatian para table tennis player. Sandra suffered critical injuries in a traffic accident on 30 January 2009. , she was still undergoing therapy in the effort to regain full use of her legs. Sport ...

Cornelia Molnar Cornelia Molnar ( hr, Kornelija Molnar-Vajda, born 26 November 1983) is a Croatian table tennis player. She competed for Croatia at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X ...

, Andrej Gaćina * Tennis ** Goran Ivanišević, Ivan Ljubičić,

Karolina Šprem Karolina Šprem Baghdatis (born 25 October 1984) is a retired professional tennis player from Croatia. She won eleven titles (ten singles) all at the ITF level. Her highest ranking is world No. 17, achieved in October 2004. Personal life Kar ...

, Ivo Karlović, Lovro Zovko,

Marta Petrić Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) : István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), ...

, Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Donna Vekić, Silvija Talaja, Ana Vrljić,

Jelena Kostanić Tošić Jelena Kostanić Tošić (née Kostanić; born 6 July 1981) is a retired tennis player from Croatia. On 26 July 2004, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 32. On 4 October 2004, she reached her highest doubles ranking of No. 30. ...

Ana Konjuh Ana Konjuh (; born 27 December 1997) is a Croatian tennis player. A successful junior player, Konjuh won both the singles and doubles junior events at the Australian Open in January 2013 and, as a result, moved up to No. 1 in the ITF Junior w ...

, Tereza Mrdeža,

Goran Prpić Goran Prpić (born 4 May 1964) is a Croatian tennis coach and former professional tennis player, who played for SFR Yugoslavia and Croatia. Biography Prpić was born in Zagreb, at the time in SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. He turned professional ...

, Mario Ančić, Marin Čilić, Borna Ćorić, Ivan Dodig,

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, ...

Petra Martić Petra Martić (; born 19 January 1991) is a Croatian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 14, achieved in January 2020. Martić has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, one singles and one doubles tou ...

Nikola Pilić Nikola "Niki" Pilić (born 27 August 1939) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight. Pilić was ranked world No. 6 in January 1968 and world No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tinga ...

, Željko Franulović, Mate Pavić,

Franko Škugor Franko Škugor (; born 20 September 1987) is a Croatian professional tennis player who mainly competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and specialized in doubles. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 17 achieved on 22 April 2019. He i ...

, Nikola Mektić *Taekwondo **

Filip Grgić Filip Grgić (born 25 October 1989) is a taekwondo practitioner from Croatia. Grgić won the gold medal in the men's bantamweight (under 62 kg) class at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships. He was named the best Croatian sportsmen for 2 ...

Sandra Šarić Sandra Šarić (born 8 May 1984 in Senj) is a Croatian taekwondo athlete. Representing Croatia at the 2003 World Taekwondo Championships in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, she won the silver medal in the welterweight (-67 kg) ...

, Martina Zubčić, Lucija Zaninović,

Ana Zaninović Ana Zaninović (born 26 June 1987, in Split) is a Croatian taekwondo practitioner. She is the twin sister of taekwondo practitioner Lucija Zaninović. At the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing, Zaninović won the silver medal in the w ...

, Kristina Tomić.

Nataša Vezmar Nataša Vezmar (born October 24, 1976, in Bjelovar) is a Croatian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's heavyweight category. One of Croatia's most prominent sporting figures in her decade, Vezmar held three European titles in the ...

* Weightlifting ** Nikolaj Pešalov,

Amar Musić Amar Musić (born 21 March 1987) is a Croatian male weightlifter, competing in the 85 kg category and representing Croatia at international competitions. He participated in the men's 85 kg event at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championsh ...

* Wrestling ** Nenad Žugaj,

Neven Žugaj Neven Žugaj (born 19 April 1983 in Zagreb) is a male wrestler from Croatia. His twin brother Nenad Žugaj (younger by three minutes) also represents Croatia in wrestling. In 2016 European Wrestling Championships – Men's Greco-Ro ...

Božo Starčević Božo Starčević (born 11 December 1988 in Zagreb) is a male Greco-Roman wrestler from Croatia. His best achievement is the bronze medal at the 2013 European Wrestling Championships – Men's Greco-Roman 74 kg in Tbilisi, Georgia. Early ...

Vlado Lisjak Vlado Lisjak (born 29 April 1962 in Petrinja) is a former Croatian Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics for Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. He won gold in the Wrestling at t ...

Sports and leagues

National organizations and leagues exist in Croatia for most popular sports. Some of these include: *

Treća HNL The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...

Četvrta HNL The Croatian Fourth league (, or commonly ''1. ŽNL'') is a county-based fifth level league in the Croatian football league system. The name Četvrta HNL (4. HNL) is still used in some regions. Subdivisions The teams are divided into 9 county o ...

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

Premijer liga The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and Herz ...

* Basketball **

* Futsal **

Croatian First League of Futsal The Prva Hrvatska Malonogometna Liga (''Croatian First Futsal League'') is the top futsal league in Croatia. Ten teams currently comprise the league. The Croatian First League winner is entered into the UEFA Futsal Champions League. Clubs also co ...

* Water polo ** Croatian First League of Water Polo * Ice hockey ** Croatian Ice Hockey Championship * Volleyball **

Croatian 1A Volleyball League The Croatian 1-A Volleyball League is the highest level of volleyball competition in Croatia. It is organized by the Croatian Volleyball Federation. It was founded in 1992. Croatian Volleyball League and Cup winners - Men Croatian Volleybal ...

National sports teams

Croatia national handball team 2010-01-09

Some of Croatia's more successful national teams include: * Croatia national football team * Croatia men's national handball team * Croatia national basketball team * Croatia Davis Cup team *

Croatia national cricket team The Croatia national cricket team is the team that represents Croatia in international cricket. The team is organised by the Croatian Cricket Federation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and an ...

* Croatia national beach handball team * Croatia women's national beach handball team *

Croatia national baseball team The Croatia national baseball team is the national baseball team of Croatia. As of the beginning of 2013 in the IBAF World Rankings, they were the seventh-best team in Europe and the 31st men's baseball team overall. The team is controlled by the ...

* Croatia women's national basketball team *

Croatia national futsal team The Croatia national futsal team represents Croatia during international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation and represents the country in international futsal competitions, such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup an ...

Croatia women's national handball team The Croatia women's national handball team is the national handball team of Croatia. It is governed by the Croatian Handball Federation and takes part in international team handball competitions. Results Olympic Games World Champions ...

* Croatia men's national ice hockey team * Croatia women's national ice hockey team * Croatia national rugby union team *

Croatia national speedway team The Croatia national speedway team are motorcycle speedway national team from Croatia. European Championships Pairs Honours European Championships National speedway teams Speedway Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race ...

* Croatia Fed Cup team * Croatia Hopman Cup team *

Croatia men's national volleyball team The Croatia men's national volleyball team represents Croatia in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches. It is governed by the Croatian Volleyball Federation. Results Prior to 1992 Croatia men's national volleyball ...

Achievements

Olympic Games

Croatia has participated in the following Summer Olympic Games to date: *

Croatia at the 1992 Summer Olympics Croatia competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time as an independent nation at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Previously, Croatian athletes had competed for Yugoslavia at the Olympic Games. Medalists Competitors The ...

* Croatia at the 1996 Summer Olympics *

Croatia at the 2000 Summer Olympics Croatia competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Medalists Athletics ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Women ;Track & road events ;Field events Canoeing Slalom Sprint ;Men Rowing Sailing ;Men ;Open ...

* Croatia at the 2004 Summer Olympics * Croatia at the 2008 Summer Olympics *

Croatia at the 2012 Summer Olympics Croatia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's sixth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor, ''H ...

* Croatia at the 2016 Summer Olympics * Croatia at the 2020 Summer Olympics Croatia has participated in the following Winter Olympic Games to date: *

Croatia at the 1992 Winter Olympics Croatia competed in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time as an independent nation at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Previously, Croatian athletes had competed for Yugoslavia at the Olympic Games. Competitors The followin ...

Croatia at the 1994 Winter Olympics Croatia competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway with three athletes in two sports. Competitors The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games. Alpine skiing ;Men Cross country skiing ;Men Reference ...

* Croatia at the 1998 Winter Olympics *

Croatia at the 2002 Winter Olympics Croatia competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, United States. Janica Kostelić won four medals (three gold), a record for the most medals ever won by a woman skier at a single Olympics. Croatia had never won any Winter Olympic m ...

Croatia at the 2006 Winter Olympics Croatia competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Medalists Alpine skiing ;Men ;Women Note: In the men's combined, run 1 is the downhill, and runs 2 and 3 are the slalom. In the women's combined, run 1 and 2 are the slalom, ...

* Croatia at the 2010 Winter Olympics *

Croatia at the 2014 Winter Olympics Croatia competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February 2014. Croatia qualified 11 athletes, the fewest athletes in the fewest sports since the 1998 Winter Olympics. Competitors Medalists Alpine skiing Accordi ...

* Croatia at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Hostings of international sporting events

Croatia has hosted many international sporting events. Until 1992 Croatia hosted the events as a part of Yugoslavia.

Alpine skiing

Zagreb (Sljeme) has organized many FIS races apart from the World Cup races held every year from 2005. The first ever FIS alpine ski race was held in 1995 and included 94 racers from 7 different countries. *

Snow Queen Trophy Snow Queen ( hr, Snježna kraljica) is a World Cup alpine ski race held in the hills of Zagreb, Croatia. The men's and women's slalom races take place on the Medvednica mountaintop Sljeme, just north of Zagreb, usually in early January. The wome ...

(2005—; part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup): Zagreb ( Sljeme) * Adriatic Slalom (2006—2011; from 2006 to 2009 a FIS race, in 2010 and 2011 part of the FIS Alpine Ski European Cup):

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

( Platak)

Artistic gymnastics

* Žito Challenge Cup (Grand prix Osijek) (2009—):

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

* 1982 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final: Zagreb

Aquatics

1981 European Aquatics Championships The 1981 European Aquatics Championships were held in an indoor pool (50 m) in Split, Yugoslavia from 5 September to 12 September 1981. Besides swimming there were titles contested in diving, synchronized swimming (women) and water polo ...

: Split *

2008 European Short Course Swimming Championships The European Short Course Swimming Championships 2008 took place in Rijeka, Croatia from Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 December 2008. Medal table Medal summary Legend: * WR = World record * ER = European record * CR = Championships record Men's e ...

2010 Men's European Water Polo Championship The 2010 Men's European Water Polo Championship was the 29th edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The event took place from 29 August – 11 September at the Spo ...

: Zagreb *

2010 Women's European Water Polo Championship The 2010 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the 13th edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The event took place at the Arena Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia f ...

: Zagreb

Athletics

Hanžeković Memorial Hanžeković Memorial ( hr, Hanžekovićev memorijal) is an athletics event at the Sportski Park Mladost athletic stadium in Zagreb, Croatia as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1951. ''Hanžek'' (which is the ...

(1951—): Zagreb * Terry Fox Run (2000—): Zagreb * Slobodna Dalmacija Women's High Jump Meeting (2007—2011): Split ** In 2010 the meeting was one of the most visited indoor events in the history of the sport with some 11 000 spectators cheering mainly for Blanka Vlašić. In 2011 the meeting was held outdoors, on the Riva, the Split's waterfront, to make it more interesting. The meeting was not held in 2012 and 2013 due to Blanka Vlašić's injury. * 1981 European Cup Super League Finals: Zagreb *

1989 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1989 European Athletics Junior Championships was the tenth edition of the biennial athletics competition for European athletes aged under twenty. It was held in Varaždin, Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia) between 24 and 27 August.

: Varaždin *

1990 European Athletics Championships The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. The host stadium was Stadion Poljud. It was the last participation of East Germany (which was already scheduled to be merged ...

: Split *

2002 European Cup Winter Throwing The 2002 European Winter Throwing Challenge was held on 9 and 10 March at Stadion Veruda in Pula, Croatia. It was the second edition of the athletics competition for throwing events organised by the European Athletics Association. A total of 175 ...

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

2002 European Cross Country Championships The 9th European Cross Country Championships were held at Medulin in Croatia on 8 December 2002. Serhiy Lebid took his third title in the men's competition and Helena Javornik won the women's race. Results Men individual 9.83 km Total 86 c ...

: Medulin *

2008 European Cup Winter Throwing The 2008 European Cup Winter Throwing was held on 15 and 16 March 2008 at Stadion Park mladeži in Split, Croatia. It was the eighth edition of the athletics competition for throwing events. The competition featured men's and women's contests in ...

: Split (

Stadion Park mladeži Stadion Park Mladeži (English: ''Park of Youth Stadium'') is a football stadium in Split, Croatia. It is the second largest football stadium in Split (after Poljud) and is home to the RNK Split football club. The stadium was built in the 1950s ...

) *

2010 IAAF Continental Cup The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 200 ...

: Split * 2013 Balkan Veterans Athletic Championship: Zagreb (Sports park of Mladost)

Australian football

* 2009 EU Cup Australian rules football: Samobor

Basketball

1970 FIBA World Championship The 1970 FIBA World Championship was the 6th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Yugoslavia in Sarajevo, Split, Karlovac, Skopje and Ljubljana, from 10 to 24 May 1970. It was ...

: Split,

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

(parts of the competition were also held in Sarajevo, Skopje and Ljubljana) *

1972 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1972 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship (known at that time as 1972 European Championship for Juniors) was an international basketball competition held in Zadar, SFR Yugoslavia in 1972. Final standings ;Team Roster Dragan Todorić, Franc ...

: Zadar * 1975 Eurobakset: Split,

(the final round was played in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

) * 1978–79 FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup Finals:

Poreč Poreč (; it, Parenzo; la, Parens or ; grc, Πάρενθος, Párenthos) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, west Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, whic ...

1989 Eurobasket The 1989 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1989, was the 26th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Yugoslavia between 20 and 25 June 1989. Eight national teams entered t ...

: Zagreb *

2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa na ...

: Zadar * 2001 FIBA Under-21 World Championship for Women: Šibenik *

2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women The 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women was the second edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women. 12 teams featured the competition, held in Zagreb, Croatia, from 26 July to 4 August 2002. The Czech Republic won their ...

: Zagreb * 2003–04 ABA Goodyear League Final Four: Zagreb ( Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall) * 2009–10 ABA NLB League Final Four: Zagreb ( Arena Zagreb) *

2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 13th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The cities of Zadar, Crikvenica and Makarska, in Croatia, hosted the tournament. France won their first title. Netherlands and the Czech Rep ...

: Zadar, Crikvenica,

Makarska Makarska (; it, Macarsca, ; german: Macharscha) is a town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split (city), Split and northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Split-Dalmatia County. Makarska is a prominent regional tourist center, ...

2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women The 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women was the 30th edition of the European Under-18 Women's Basketball Championship. 16 teams featured in the competition, held in Vukovar and Vinkovci, Croatia, from 15 to 25 August 2013. Particip ...

: Vinkovci, Vukovar

Beach handball

2011 European Beach Handball Championship The 2011 European Beach Handball Championship was held in Umag, Croatia from 4–9 July. Croatia was the defending men's champion, while Italy was the defending women's champion. Draw The group draw was held for both genders was held on 25 May 2 ...

: Umag ( ITC Stella Maris)

Boxing

* 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championship:

Canoeing and kayaking

* 1999 Canoe Sprint European Championship: Zagreb * 2012 Canoe Sprint European Championship: Zagreb

Chess

* 2010 European Individual Chess Championship:

Cycling

* Tour of Croatia (2015—)

Darts

* 2009 World Dart Championship: Zadar ( Krešimir Ćosić Hall) * 2009 European Dart Championship: Zadar ( Krešimir Ćosić Hall)

Fencing

* 2013 European Fencing Championship: Zagreb

Figure skating

Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy is an international, multi-level synchronized skating competition, held annually since 2001 in Zagreb, Croatia. the competition is organized by Croatian Skating Federation and sanctioned by the International Skating Unio ...

(2001—): Zagreb * 1974 European Figure Skating Championship: Zagreb * 1979 European Figure Skating Championship: Zagreb * 1999 World Junior Figure Skating Championship: Zagreb * 2004 World Synchronized Skating Championship: Zagreb * 2008 European Figure Skating Championship: Zagreb * 2009 World Synchronized Skating Championship: Zagreb * 2013 European Figure Skating Championship: Zagreb

Football

1976 UEFA European Football Championship The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...

: Zagreb ( Maksimir Stadium; the second semi-final and the final were played in

) *

2009 UEFA Regions' Cup The 2009 UEFA Regions' Cup was the sixth UEFA Regions' Cup. It was held in Croatia and won by the ''Castile and León'' team from Spain, which beat Romania's ''Oltenia'' 2–1 in the final. Preliminary round The eleven teams in the prelimina ...

: Zagreb ( Stadion Lučko), Vrbovec, Velika Gorica, Samobor, Jastrebarsko, Zaprešić (

Stadion ŠRC Zaprešić Stadion (Greek , Latin ''stadium'', nominative plural ''stadia'' in both Greek and Latin) may refer to: People * Christoph von Stadion (1478–1543), Prince-Bishop of Augsburg * Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen (1763–1824), Austrian ...

)

Futsal

* Kutija šibica (1970—): Zagreb ( Dom sportova, Sports Hall Trešnjevka, Sports Hall Trnsko, Sports Hall Peščenica) *

2012 UEFA Futsal Championship The UEFA Futsal Euro 2012 was the eighth official edition of the UEFA UEFA Futsal Championship, European Championship for national futsal teams. It was hosted by Croatia, and was played from January, 31 to February, 11. 12 teams competed for the ...

: Split (

Spaladium Arena The Spaladium Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Split, Croatia. It was opened in December 2008, and hosted the following month's World Men's Handball Championship in 2009. The hall will host the event again in 2025 with Croatia, D ...

), Zagreb ( Arena Zagreb)

Handball

1957 World Women's Handball Championship The 1957 World Women's Handball Championship took place in Virovitica, PR Croatia and Belgrade, PR Serbia within FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a ...

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...

(part of the competition was also played in

) *

2000 European Men's Handball Championship The 2000 European Men's Handball Championship was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held in Croatia from 21 to 30 January 2000, in the cities of Zagreb and Rijeka. Sweden won the tournament after defeating Russia in the final, while S ...

: Zagreb ( Dom sportova),

( Dvorana mladosti) *

2003 World Women's Handball Championship The 2003 World Women's Handball Championship, the 16th handball world championship for women, was played in Croatia between 2 and 14 December 2003. Qualification The following nations were qualified: Preliminary round Group A in Split *''Tu ...

: Split,

, Čakovec, Zagreb,

2009 World Men's Handball Championship The 2009 World Men's Handball Championship (21st tournament) took place in Croatia from 16 January to 1 February, in the cities of Split, Zadar, Osijek, Varaždin, Poreč, Zagreb and Pula. Croatia was selected from a group of four potential hos ...

: Split, Zadar,

, Varaždin,

, Zagreb,

* 2011–12 SEHA League Final Four: Zagreb ( Arena Zagreb) *

2014 Women's Junior World Handball Championship The 2014 IHF Women's Junior World Championship was the 19th edition of the tournament and took place in Croatia from 28 June to 13 July 2014. South Korea won the final and their first title by defeating Russia 34–27. Denmark secured the bronze m ...

: *

2014 European Women's Handball Championship The 2014 European Women's Handball Championship was the eleventh continental tournament for women's national teams, organized by the European Handball Federation. The second jointly hosted edition in the competition's history took place in Hungar ...

, Varaždin, Zagreb (the competition will be jointly-hosted with Hungary)

Ice hockey

* 2005 Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group A: Zagreb * 2007 Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group A: Zagreb * 2011 Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group B: Zagreb * 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship Division II Group A: Zagreb

Judo

* Rijeka Grand Prix ( IJF World Judo Tour; 2013):

( Centar Zamet)

Motorsport

* Croatia Rally (1974—; part of the European Rally Championship) * 2013 European Hill Climb Championship:

Buzet Buzet (; la, Piquentum; it, Pinguente) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, population 6,133 (2011). Demographics In 2011 the total municipal population was 6,133 people, distributed in the following settlements (with population shown in parenth ...

* 2013 Individual Speedway European Championship: Donji Kraljevec

Picigin

* Picigin World Championship (2005—): Split

Sailing

* 1996 Open Match Racing World Championship: Dubrovnik * 2000 Open Match Racing World Championship: Split * 2004 470 World Championship: Zadar * 2006 Finn Gold Cup: Split * 2011 Youth Sailing World Championship: Zadar * 2012 49er World Championship: Zadar * 2013 Formula Windsurfing World Championship:

Viganj Viganj () is a village located in the west of the Pelješac peninsula in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea, between Nakovana and Kućište. It has a population of 283. Because the Maestral wind is common in summer time, Viganj is a ...

Shooting

* 1985 European Shooting Championship:

* 1989 European Shooting Championship: Zagreb * 2001 European Shooting Championship: Zagreb *

2003 ISSF World Cup For the 2003 ISSF World Cup in the seventeen Olympic shooting events, the World Cup Final was held in October 2003 in Milan, Italy for the rifle, pistol and running target events, and in Rome, Italy for the shotgun events. Rifle, pistol and runn ...

: Zagreb * 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championship: Zagreb * 2009 European Shooting Championship:

* 2013 European Shooting Championship:

Tennis

ATP Vegeta Croatia Open The Croatia Open (currently sponsored by Plava laguna) is a men's ATP tennis tournament held in Umag, Croatia that is part of the 250 series of the ATP Tour. The tournament began in 1990 when it was part of Yugoslavia, and is the oldest tennis t ...

(1990—): Umag * Zagreb Indoors (1996—): Zagreb

Volleyball (indoor)

2001 FIVB Girls Youth World Championship The FIVB Volleyball Girls' U19 World Championship is the world championship of volleyball for female players under the age of 19 organized by ''Fédération Internationale de Volleyball'' ( FIVB). The first edition was staged in 1989 in Curitiba ...

2005 Women's European Volleyball Championship The 2005 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the 24th edition of the event, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in Pula and Zagreb, Croatia from 17 to 25 September ...

, Zagreb

Multi-sport events

* 1971 Balkan Games: Zagreb *

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September 1979, where 2,408 athletes (2,00 ...

: Split *

1987 Summer Universiade The 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members of teams. Infrastructural cha ...

: Zagreb *

1999 Military World Games The 1999 Military World Games was the second edition of the global multi-sport event for military personnel, organised by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). It was hosted in Zagreb, Croatia from 8 to 17 August. Mar del Plata, Argent ...

: Zagreb ( Stadion Maksimir) * Sportske igre mladih: Split * 2016 European University Games: Zagreb,

References

External links

Hrvatska domaćin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In Croatia Modern history of Croatia

History

Team sports

Association football

Team handball

Basketball

Water polo

Rugby union

Australian Rules Football

Ice hockey

Volleyball

Individual sports

Sports and leagues

National sports teams

Achievements

Olympic Games

Hostings of international sporting events

Alpine skiing

Artistic gymnastics

Aquatics

Athletics

Australian football

Basketball

Beach handball

Boxing

Canoeing and kayaking

Chess

Cycling

Darts

Fencing

Figure skating

Football

Futsal

Handball

Ice hockey

Judo

Motorsport

Picigin

Sailing

Shooting

Tennis

Volleyball (indoor)

Multi-sport events

See also

References

External links