Zlatko Šimenc (born 29 November 1938) is a retired

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 ...

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 and coach (1969-1975) of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n origin. He was part of the Yugoslav teams that won a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics and placed fourth in 1960. He won three more medals at the European championships in 1958–1966. Šimenc's parents moved from

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 ...

before he was born. They had three sons and one daughter, with Zlatko being the youngest child. He took up swimming aged 11, and in his twenties changed to water polo and

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 ...

. He trained as a water polo defender in the summer and as a handball striker in the winter, and won national titles in both sports with his club Mladost. Between 1955 and 1975 he played 101 water polo and 24 handball matches for the national Yugoslav teams. In 1958, Šimenc enrolled to study law, but next year changed to the newly established in Zagreb institute of physical education, and graduated in 1966. He later earned a master's degree in

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

and defended a PhD in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

. Since 1966 until retirement he worked at the Department of Team Sports of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

, and published ca. 60 scientific papers and books on handball and water polo. In parallel he served as a sports official at the Yugoslav (1980–82) and Croatian (1992–96) water polo federations and was a member of the Croatian Olympic Committee (1991–95). His son

Dubravko Dubravko ( sr, Дубравко) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, derived from ''dubrava'' meaning "oak grove". The name can refer to: * Dubravko Bužimski Jelačić, Croatian writer * Dubravko Detoni, Croatian composer, pianist and w ...

also became an Olympic medalist in water polo, while his daughter Iva is a coach and former competitor in synchronized swimming.

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Zlatko Šimenc
at Encyclopedia LZMK {{DEFAULTSORT:Simenc, Zlatko 1938 births Living people Croatian male water polo players Croatian water polo coaches Yugoslav male water polo players Olympic water polo players for Yugoslavia Water polo players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic medalists in water polo Sportspeople from Zagreb Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Yugoslavia Competitors at the 1959 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1963 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in water polo University of Zagreb alumni Croatian people of Slovenian descent Croatian sports executives and administrators

See also

References

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