April 26, 2023 - Antonio Franko is Croatia's most successful para triathlete. He won many medals, but his favourite is the bronze from the European Championship in Valencia. Although he achieved most of his goals, he revealed his unfulfilled sports dream.

As 24Sata writes, everyone has had a role model, at least in childhood. That is why it should not be surprising that children often look for their role models and inspiration in top athletes, who later influence the choice of sport that the child wants to play. And one of those who can inspire us all with his sports and life successes is Antonio Franko. Antonio was born with a disability, but despite this, he is the most successful Croatian para triathlete. He is involved in one of the most challenging sports disciplines, and in the conversation with 24Sata, he revealed how he decided to take up this sport in the first place, what the most difficult challenges were, and his unfulfilled career goal.

'Stubbornness, self-criticism and patience'

Antonio grew up in Kraljevica, a small town near Rijeka, where he took his first sports steps. He has the best memories of his childhood and the region he grew up in, with his friends and family supporting him. His parents, he points out, were his financial and moral support from day one, and his childhood friends are still with him today and proudly follow and celebrate his every success.

"I started sports for rehabilitation. Due to my disability, until I was 18, I constantly had surgeries, so recovery meant working in the pool to train my leg for as normal and functional a life as possible. That's why swimming was my first contact with sports when I was five. As for para sports, it started when I was 19 years old, when, at the persuasion of our Paralympian Milka Milinković, I started swimming more intensively. Then the president of the club where I trained got me interested in triathlons, which he did recreationally. I took a chance and tried it. Even today, I can say that I found myself in that sport", Antonio told 24Sata.

Every day continues Antonio Franko; progress was visible, and better results arrived. But you can't become a top athlete overnight, says Antonio, so his results didn't come all at once. There was a lot of training, sacrifice, determination, and time, and thanks to that, today, he holds the title of one of the world's best paratriathletes.

"Every athlete should have qualities such as stubbornness, self-criticism, and patience. I don't think it works any other way. You need to give yourself time in training and be patient. Success will come. These three mentioned qualities also guided me through sports life and led me to the title of the most successful Croatian para triathlete".

Training seven days a week

As Antonio points out, his most challenging discipline is running, which comes at the end, after swimming and cycling. But of all three triathlon disciplines, he admits, cycling is his favorite.

"I train seven days a week, approximately 4 to 6 hours daily. Sunday is the easiest day because I do regeneration training. But on a weekly basis, I swim an average of 20 kilometers, cycle a total of 250 kilometers, and run 40 kilometers. My season lasts approximately from May to October, and everything else is subordinated to the preparation for competitions", Antonio described his regime.

In addition to being fully dedicated to training and preparation, Antonio is a fitness coach for soccer and basketball players.

"The biggest problem is the lack of time, but if you do what you love, like me, it's a real pleasure. When I train other athletes, it comes as a break from my sport, and I can say that I get to relax. This job is a challenge because one day when I finish my career, I plan to become a coach. This is an opportunity for me to build myself into something I want to do in the future", said Franko.

"Professional staff shortage"

Regarding the future, this 28-year-old from Rijeka has clear goals. He says that he has achieved most of them so far, but there is one more that he hopes to fulfill soon.

"When I started in the more professional field, my goal was to compete with the best in the world. Year after year, I progressed, so my goals also increased. My goal is to always push the limits, and I want to find out what my maximum is. This is perhaps one of my main drivers. I had failures, but that is also how you learn. Right now, my biggest goal is to win a medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris," says Antonio Franko, adding that preparations for Paris have already begun.

Although he has won many titles and medals, Antonio is most proud of the medal from the 2019 European Championship in Valencia, where he won third place. For him, that success was a turning point in his career because, as he says, only after that did others start taking him more seriously as an athlete.

"That is why it is crucial to send a message to young people to give themselves time and be patient. But as far as para-sport in Croatia is concerned, the biggest problem is the infrastructure. There is a lack of swimming pools and gyms, which is a constant problem. Someone who can only swim is doomed to a swimming pool, and we know that not every city has a swimming pool. At the same time, every city, for example, has a football field. Also, there is a shortage of professional staff willing to work with people with disabilities. I hope that one day these problems will also be solved", concludes  Antonio.

Antonio Franko is one of the faces of P&G's 'Winners every day' initiative. It is a campaign by the Croatian Paralympic Committee and Procter & Gamble Croatia. Thank you to Paralympians for getting involved in campaigns that aim to support the further development of parasports in Croatia.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Sport section.

August 28, 2021 - Croatia's Antonio Franko won an excellent 5th place in the Paralympic triathlon in Tokyo!

It was the premiere performance of a Croatian triathlete in the history of the Paralympic Games, reports Sportske.Jutarnji.hr.

The triathlon was held in Odaiba Marine Park, and Franko achieved a result of 1:05.49 after 750 meters of swimming, 20 km of cycling, and 5 km of running, 5:51 minutes behind the winner, France's Alexis Hanquinquant.

In second was Japan's Hideki Uda (+3.47), while the bronze was won by Spain's Alejandro Sanchez (+4.26). In front of Franko was China's Jiacho Wang (+4.56).

"I can be satisfied with 5th place; I did my best, at this moment, I couldn't do better. From the beginning to the end, there was a big fight," said the 28-year-old triathlete from Kraljevica, a member of Rijeka's Rival Club.

Franko was fifth after the swimming section, with only two seconds behind third-place. He cycled between 5th and 7th to break through to the fifth place in the last section, which he kept until the end.

Due to the high heat, the start of the race was at 6:30 am. The temperature was already around 29 degrees Celsius with 80 percent humidity.

"The water was hot, about 28, 29 degrees, so during the first lap on the bike, I was still looking for and chasing the feeling. After that, I started running great; I immediately passed the American, I started to step up, but unfortunately, after the second lap, I slipped and fell. My prosthesis tilted a little; after that, I couldn't strengthen it anymore, but I kept it from breaking completely so that I wouldn't have to give up."

Antonio, born with fibular aplasia of the right knee, i.e., a shortening of the leg by 6 cm, won a spot in Tokyo by collecting points in the past two years. 

"It was tough to get a place among the top 10 who competed in Tokyo. Until the last moment, no one was safe except Hanquinquant. After that, everyone else could be eliminated until the last race," he said, adding that he enjoyed his first Paralympic performance.

"The feeling was fantastic, like no other race. I really enjoyed it from start to finish."

Franko added that even before the race, it was known who would win the gold. The Frenchman could only be stopped on the way to victory by an accident. At one point, he even fell while running, but everything went smoothly, and in the end, the three-time world and three-time European champion celebrated.

"We stayed up there somewhere, we all beat each other, depending on the race, but no one has beaten him for four years. He dominates and is really a class above," said Franko, who won the first medal in the paratriathlon, a bronze medal, in 2017 at the World Cup in Altafulla, Spain. His greatest success was the bronze medal at the 2019 European Championships in Valencia.

Franko has been in parasport for 19 years, and our most trophy-winning Paralympian, Milka Milinović, played a big role in that.

"As a kid, I was in swimming, then boxing, so I didn't see myself in parasport. But Milka kept persuading me. Finally, at 19, I decided to give it a try, and after a year in para-swimming, I started with the para-triathlon."

Franko is currently graduating from the Faculty of Kinesiology and is also the fitness coach for the footballers and basketballers of Kraljevica, of course when the time allows because training is a priority.

Coach Hrvoje Vlahović was also satisfied with his performance.

"I am satisfied that Franko won 5th place. We expected a fight between second and seventh place. This is the first time we have had a triathlete at the Paralympic Games. This is the first time that Antonio has competed in such a big competition in full readiness because he was injured at the last world championship and could not show how much he is worth," said Vlahović.

“Among the top ten triathletes, Franko was fifth, and I don’t think we have anything to regret,” he added.

Vlahović pointed out that the track was speedy.

"It was a relatively simple track, and there were no big climbs, but technically there were a couple of sharp bends on the bike section where you had to be careful. But all in all, it was a fast track," Vlahović stressed.

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