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

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

ian

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, 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 water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player who competed for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the

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

, in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

, and in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

. Kovačič was born in

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

in 1925 (at the time

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

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

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. 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 colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person 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 ...

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

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* * * * * 1925 births 2015 deaths Water polo players from Rijeka Croatian male water polo players Yugoslav male water polo players Water polo goalkeepers Olympic water polo players for 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

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