Zdravko "Ćiro" Kovačić (6 July 1925 – 1 April 2015) was a

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

ian

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player who competed for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, and in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. Kovačič was born in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

in 1925 (at the time

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

), but moved to Sušak the next year and therefore considered himself a native of

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 ...

. Kovačić was part of the Yugoslav team which was eliminated in the second round of the 1948 Olympic tournament. He played one match as goalkeeper. Four years later he won the silver medal with the Yugoslav team in the 1952 tournament. He played all nine matches as goalkeeper. In 1956 he was a member of the Yugoslav team which won the silver medal in the Olympic competition again. He played all seven matches as goalkeeper. He was given the honour to carry the national flag of Yugoslavia at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

, becoming the ninth water polo player to be a

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. He died in Rijeka.

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External links

* * * * 1925 births 2015 deaths Sportspeople from Rijeka Croatian male water polo players Yugoslav male water polo players Water polo goalkeepers Olympic water polo players of Yugoslavia Water polo players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic medalists in water polo Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics {{Yugoslavia-waterpolo-bio-stub

See also

References

External links