Ivan Šapina (born 17 November 1999) is a Croatian

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

practitioner. He is a two-time medalist in the men's 87kg event at the

World Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. In addition to the kyorugi (full contact fighting) Championships, there are also Para World Championships as well as Poomsae and Para Poomsae Championships held every ...

. He is also a two-time medalist, including gold, in his event at the

European Taekwondo Championships The European Taekwondo Championships are the European senior championships in Taekwondo, first held in Barcelona in 1976. The event is held every two years and is organized by the European Taekwondo Union, the continental affiliate of World Taek ...

. He competed at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Career

He is a member of Marjan Taekwondo Club in

Split, Croatia Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...

, a club that also includes fellow champion practitioners Matea Jelić, Bruna Duvančić and

Lena Stojković Lena Stojković (born 3 January 2002) is a Croatian taekwondo practitioner. She is a two-time World Taekwondo Championships, world champion, a three-time European Taekwondo Championships, European champion and an Olympic bronze medalist. Stojko ...

. Šapina won one of the bronze medals in the men's middleweight event at the

2019 World Taekwondo Championships The 2019 World Taekwondo Championships was the 24th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships and was held at the Manchester Arena, in Manchester, Great Britain from 15 to 19 May 2019. This was the first time the UK has held the event. Medal ...

held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, United Kingdom. In 2021, he won one of the bronze medals in the men's 87 kg event at the

held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Šapina represented Croatia at the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021. He competed in the men's +80kg event where he was eliminated in his second match by

Sun Hongyi Sun Hongyi (born 28 July 1993) is a male taekwondo practitioner from China. Personal life He began the sport in 2007 at a school in Hulunbuir, before attending Beijing Sport University. Career He reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 Asia Games ...

of China. Šapina won the gold medal in the men's +80kg event at the

2022 Mediterranean Games The 2022 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XIX Mediterranean Games and commonly known as Oran 2022, was an international multi-sport event held from 25 June to 6 July 2022 in Oran, Algeria. Oran was announced as the host city at th ...

held in Oran, Algeria. He defeated Ayoub Bassel of Morocco in his gold medal match. He won the silver medal in the men's middleweight event at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships held in Baku, Azerbaijan. He competed at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, where he was defeated in the bronze medal of the men's +80 kg division match, by

Rafael Alba Rafael Yunier Alba Castillo (born 12 August 1993) is a Cuban taekwondo athlete. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the Taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's +80 kg, men's +80 kg. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, ...

of Cuba. He was however, given the honour of being a flag bearer for his country at the Games' closing ceremony.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapina, Ivan Living people 1999 births Place of birth missing (living people) Croatian male taekwondo practitioners European Taekwondo Championships medalists Taekwondo practitioners at the 2020 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Croatia Taekwondo practitioners at the 2022 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Croatia Mediterranean Games medalists in taekwondo 21st-century Croatian sportsmen European Games gold medalists for Croatia Taekwondo practitioners at the 2023 European Games European Games medalists in taekwondo