To honour and celebrate the history of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Organisers of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup races in Zagreb (CRO) have prepared a 165-metre-long ski slope in downtown Zagreb at which former and current World Cup champions raced on 4th January 2017. Eighteen skiing champions, including Croatia’s most famous siblings Janica (on the photo) and Ivica Kostelić, have competed in the special event to mark 50 years of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup which started on 5th January 1967 in Berchtesgarden (GER). Other big names joining the celebrations include former and current FIS World Cup champions including the first ever winner of the FIS World Cup, the legendary Jean-Claude Killy, along with Karl Schranz, Annemarie Moser-Proell, Marc Girardelli, Marcel Hirscher, Alberto Tomba, Andreas Wenzel, …
Category: Sports
Mirko Cro Cop knocks out Amir Aliakbari to win grand prix Rizin 2016 in Tokyo
Cro Cop landed a beautiful straight left to drop Aliakbari, the former Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, and followed up with another big left before the referee stepped in to stop the fight. “This is a special one for me, 10 years later after winning Pride grand prix,” Cro Cop said on the microphone afterward. … “I can’t explain it and I can’t explain how happy and proud I am.” In the semifinals of the grand prix, Cro Cop defeated Baruto early in the first round with a vicious knee to the body from the clinch. The Croatian star defeated Muhammad Lawal in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Ivan Rakitić's launches Scorrers app to connect fans and celebrities
Loyal fans will know how annoying it is to apply for every competition and giveaway going, only to be pipped at the post by someone more web-savvy or quicker off the mark. Now entrepreneurial FC Barcelona footballer Ivan Rakitić (left) has gone to extreme lengths to stop his fans missing out – creating a new mobile app and business that he says will shake up the celebrity giveaway market. His start-up, Scorrers, aims to connect sports stars, musicians and other celebrities with their fans by giving away prizes and memorabilia in a fair, free and convenient way.
Double success of Croatia in the Davis Cup finals against the winning Argentina in Zagreb 2016
In November 2016, unusually manyu Argentinean tennis fans visited Zagreb, due to the Davis Cup finals in Croatia’s capital. Even prior to the match, Croatia secured the double success: being in the finals (after eliminating such superpowers like the USA and France), and the fact that the selector and trainer of the Argentinean team, Daniel Orsanic (on the photo), has Croatian origin on his father’s side. This is the first win of Argentina in the Davis Cup, after as many as four finals. Croatia already had one title of the Davis Cup champion in 2005. It is interesting that the final in Zagreb was attended by famous soccer player Diego Maradona, whose great-grandmother also has Croatian roots.
Christian Pulisic rising USA soccer star in Germany has Croatian roots
Christian Pulisic’s grandfather Mate, on the father’s side, was born in Croatia on the island of Olib. Jurgen Klinsmann, the head coach of the U.S. national team, revealed his delight about Pulisic’s development and onward potential: “This player’s potential is limitless.” Pennsylvania native, now just 18 years old (born in 1998) and being hailed as the next great hope of American soccer by his coaches and teammates, plus pundits and fans.
Daniel Orsanic captain of the 2016 Argentinean Davis Cup representation has Croatian roots
Daniel Orsanic, the current 2016 captain of the 2016 Davis Cup representation of Argentina, has Croatian roots on his father’s side. More specifically, his grandparents Ivan and Ivana Orsanic originate from Croatia’s capital Zagreb. We owe this information to Carmen Verlichak, Croatian writer in Argentina, who also sent a nice photo of his grandparents taken in Croatia in 1941.
Bojan Bogdanovic Croatian basketball player in NBA scored a career-high 44 points
Bojan Bogdanović is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Croatian national basketball team. Standing at 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions. On 22 July 2014, Bogdanović signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets. On 15 March 2016, he scored a career-high 44 points in a 131–114 over the Philadelphia 76ers, to match Drazen Petrovic’s Nets record.
Mario Hezonja young and very successful Croatian basketball player in the NBA
Mario Hezonja is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. He also represents the Croatian national team internationally. When a player like Mario Hezonja is taken in the top five of the NBA Draft, there will be big expectations for them. NBA organizations must hit on high draft picks and have confidence in the prospects that they choose. Especially if they are international players. Mario has 203 cm, 99 kg and has a great future as an NBA player.
Mikela Ristoski is Paraolympic champion in triple long jump in Rio 2016
Mikela Ristoski is a multiple world champion in both long jump (2011) and in triple long jump (2015). It is therefore not such a big surprise that she won her gold medal in triple long jump at the 2016 Paraolympic Games in Rio. However, a big surprise is continuity of her excellent results, since in this category Croatia has practicaly no tradition at all. Mikela lives in the city of Pula in Istrian peninsula, on the western part of Croatian coast.
Croatia in the finals of the 2016 Davis Cup after the victory against France in the city of Zadar
We have witnessed a big success of Croatian tennis team, winning France in the city of Zadar 3 : 2. Especially important was the role of Marin Čilić, who brought Croatia to vicotry. Croatia was the winner of the Davis Cup Tournament in 2005. The first known traces of tennis playing in Croatia date from 1878 (in Zagreb and Samobor). The first Davis Cup match in Croatia was played in Zagreb in 1927. In the finals of the 1939 Davis Cup match for the European zone, held in Zagreb, the Croatian team defeated the representation of Germany.
Training with Andrej Gacina at Westchester Table Tennis Center, September 24-25, 2016
This weekend the Westchester Table Tennis Club in Westchester, New York is proud to welcome one of the top table tennis players in the world, Croatia’s Andrej Gacina. Gacina is world-ranked #20 by the ITTF. He is five-time national champion of Croatia, a medalist at two European championships, and a three-time Olympian. He’ll play in the open event on Sunday, starting at 2 pm — competing for the grand prize of $1,500. For more information keep reading.
Sandra Paovic of Croatia winning gold medal in table tennis at the 2016 Paraolympic Games in Rio
Paovic’s career in the able-bodied side was cut short on 30 January 2009, by a life threatening car accident en route to the airport in Paris following a match. She suffered a severe cervical spinal injury leaving her with limited use of her legs. “What motivated me to come back to table tennis is the love that I have for table tennis and sport in general,” she said. “Many people were there for me on my way to success, but most important was that I believed in myself and that I never gave up.” Sandra was born in the city of Vukovar.
Stipe Miocic successfully defending his UFC heavy weight world title vs A. Overeem in Sep 2016 in Cleveland
Stipe Miočić, USA, born in 1982 to Croatian immigrants, is an American mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he is the current UFC World Heavyweight Champion. In Sep 2016 he successfully defended his title in Cleveland in the match with Alistair Overeem, a well known Dutch martial artist and kickboxer who was Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 champion. Preparing for this match, Stipe spent a part of the summer 2016 in Croatia with Mirko Filipović – Crocop. Stipe Miočić is married with Ryan Marie Carney.
Ivica Kostelic Summer Ski Camp on the island of Mljet in Croatia
Ivica Kostelić, the greatest Croatian male skier in history, invited a number of his friends, mostly skiers, to spend a part of their summer vacations on the island of Mljet, one of the most beautiful Mediterranean islands. The resulting series of six videos provides a lots of information about this island, as well as about Ivica and his guests. The island of Mljet is the one on which the shipwreck of St. Paul the Apostle occured in the first century AD, described in the Acts of the Apostles (Chps. 27 & 28) of the New Testament in the Bible. On the photo Ivica with his beautiful wife Elin Arnarsdottir from Iceland.
Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic won Croatia's first ever gold medal in Olympic sailing in Rio 2016
Šime Fantela and Igor Marenić are the current European and World champions in sailing. Should it come as a surprise if they won gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio? Definitely no, but this was Croatia’s first gold in Olympic sailing. This medal, as well as the silver medal by Tonči Stipanović (Laser category), is among others a consequence of the fact that Croatia is not only a Middle-European country, but also a Mediterranean country, situated along the coast which many consider as the most beautiful in the world, interspersed with more than a thosand islands.
Damir Martin Croatian rower winning silver medal of golden glitter at 2016 Olympic Games in men's single sculls
Probably the most dramatic event in rowing at the Olympic Games in Rio was held in the finals of men’s single sculls. Croatian rower Damir Martin finished simulateneously with Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand. However, photo-finish showed that the difference was a portion of a centimeter, so that Damir Martin was decorated with silver medal. It is a huge success of Croatian sports. Both competitors finished with the same result of 6:41:34, i.e. with equal within one hundredth of the second. According to the current FISA rule, this result is then a dead heat, and both competitors should have been decorated with gold medals. However, the Olympic Committee in Rio did not respect the FISA rule.
Sandra Perković won olympic gold medal in discus throw at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
Sandra Perković is one of the most dominant figures in contemporary world athletics, in the discipline of discus throw. In Rio de Janeiro she won her second consecutive title of Olympic Champion. She thus became one of only two women in the history of discus throw to have two gold olympic medals. The year 2016 was the most successful for Croatia till now. With 5 gold medals, Croatia won 17th place among 198 countries. Furthermore, it is 7th among 27 countries of European Union.
Sinkovic brothers win gold medals for Croatia in Double Sculls at 2016 Olympics in Rio
Brothers Valent and Martin Sinković won their only missing trophey – Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. They belong to most dominant contemporary figures in Double Sculls in the world: they were the double world champions and the double European champions in this sport, as well as the current European champions. For the last two years, they did not lose any international competition (they won 29 races in a row!). They have an outstanding trainer, Nikola Bralić: in 2015, he was proclaimed the best rowing trainer in the world. On the photo, on the left of Martin is Manuela, his wife.
Croatia – Spain 72 : 70 in basketball match at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
Dario Šarić’s powerful block at the end of a difficult basketball game agains Spain at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, secured the 72 : 70 win for Croatian team. Among Croatian players, especially successful was Bojan Bogdanović with his 26 points. The Spanish team is considered as one of the major candidates for the highest position at the Olympics, along with the American team. We recall that at the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Croatia won the sensational silver medal in basketball.
Josip Glasnovic wins Croatia's first gold of the 2016 Olympics
Croatian army officer Josip Glasnovic won Croatia’s first gold of the 2016 Olympics in the trap-shooting, beating Italy’s Giovanni Pellielo in a four-shot sudden death shootoff. Edward Ling of Great Britain took home bronze. Glasnovic, a 33-year-old who also competed in Beijing in 2008, hit a perfect 15 of 15 in the semi-final but missed two in the final. He then fired four of four in the sudden death round. Glasnovic succeeds Giovanni Cernogoraz who won gold for Croatia in London 4 years ago in the same event.