July 19, 2022 - Discus queen Sandra Perković and her young Croatia teammate Marija Tolj have qualified for the discus final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon!

Croatian athletes Sandra Perković and Marija Tolj qualified for the discus final at the World Athletics Championships in the USA! The norm for the final was 64 meters, or the best 12 results, reports HRT. 

Sandra Perković did the job already in the first series of her qualification group, throwing the discus 64.23 meters, so there was no need for the next two attempts. Tolj, on the other hand, entered the finals based on the results of others - in the first series, she threw 61.46 meters, and then had two incorrect attempts.

As the 22-year-old Tolj competed in the first group, she had to wait for the outcome of the competition in the second group in order to break into the top 12. She succeeded and, in the end, took tenth place.

American Valerie Allman had the best qualifying result. The current Olympic champion threw the discus 68.36 meters. In second was Jorinda van Klinken from the Netherlands, who threw 65.66 meters, while the current world champion Cuban Yaime Perez had the third best result of 65.32 meters. Perković was seventh with 64.23 meters, and Tolj was tenth with 61.46 meters.

A total of 30 females competed, and the last, 12th place leading to the final, was won by Frenchwoman Melina Robert-Michon with 61.21 meters.

Sandra Perković has so far won two gold medals (2013, 2017), one silver (2015), and one bronze (2019) at the world championships, and this season she threw the furthest - 68.19 meters. Only American Allman (71.46) threw further than her this year.

Marija Tolj arrived in Eugene in excellent form, having recently won gold at the Mediterranean Games in Oran with a personal record of 64.71 meters. Let's add that in Eugene, she won her first final at a major senior competition (Olympics, World Champs, European Champs).

The women's discus final is scheduled for early Thursday morning Croatian time.

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

April 8, 2021 - Only 40 Croatian athletes qualified for Tokyo so far. A look at Croatia at the Olympic Games this summer.

Gol.hr reports that there are only three months left until the start of the Olympic Games in Japan. From July 23 to August 8, Tokyo will be the world’s sports center and host today’s best athletes in various sports.

Croatia participated in its first Games back in 1992 and participated in seven Olympic competitions, winning 33 medals total - 11 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 12 bronze.

According to the number of qualified athletes, it is clear that Croatian sport is in crisis. To date, a total of only 40 Croatian athletes have qualified for Tokyo. 10-15 more are expected from individual sports (boxing, wrestling, karate, judo, tennis, cycling). The basketball team, which plays its qualifiers in June, faces a challenging task because they may play without their biggest stars - Bogdanović, Šarić, and Zubac.

In the best-case scenario, Croatia can see 65 athletes in Japan, which is the lowest number in the last 30 years. Croatia only had less in Barcelona in 1992 (41 athletes in 12 sports). Given the war period, this figure is not surprising. 

Croatia at the Olympic Games

Barcelona 1992 - 41 athletes - 12 sports (three medals)
Atlanta 1996 - 85 athletes - 14 sports (two medals)
Sydney 2000 - 91 athletes - 12 sports (two medals)
Athens 2004 - 81 athletes - 14 sports (five medals)
Beijing 2008 - 101 athletes - 15 sports (five medals)
London 2012 - 107 athletes - 18 sports (six medals)
Rio de Janeiro 2016 - 88 athletes - 18 sports (ten medals)

Tokyo 2021 - In the best case scenario, 65 athletes, and how many medals?
Croatian athletes will not be expected to break the record from Rio and the ten medals won that summer.

Favorites for medals?
The shortlist of favorites for medals at this year's Games includes Sandra Perković, Sinković brothers, Tin Srbić, Croatia water polo, Tonči Stipanović, Šime, and Mihovil Fantela, Josip Glasnović, Damir Martin, and Mektić-Pavić (tennis players are not yet on the list of qualified athletes).

Croatian athletes qualified for Tokyo:
ATHLETICS (Sandra Perković, Sara Kolak, Filip Mihaljević, Bojana Bjeljac, Matea Parlov Koštro)
GYMNASTICS (Tin Srbić, Ana Đerek)
WRESTLING (Božo Starčević)
SAILING (Tonči Stipanović, Šime and Mihovil Fantela, Elena Vorobeva)
KAYAK / CANOE (Matija Marinić)
SWIMMING (Franko Grgić, Marin Mogić)
TABLE TENNIS (Tomislav Pucar, Andrej Gacina, Frane Tomislav Kojic)
SHOOTING (Josip Glasnović, Snježana Pejčić, Petar Gorša, Miran Maričić)
TAEKWONDO (Kristina Tomic, Matea Jelic, Toni Kanaet)
WATER POLO - 12 athletes
ROWING (Damir Martin, Valent, and Martin Sinković)

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

ZAGREB, August 26, 2018 - The 68th edition of the Hanžeković track and field meeting, an IAAF World Challenge meeting which takes place in Zagreb every year, will be held on 3 and 4 September, the organisers have recently announced.

A seven-figure donation for the new Foundation for Athletic Excellence in Split.