July 24, 2021 - Croatia gymnastics at the Olympic Games are off to a flying start, as Tin Srbić finally learned he would compete in the final on August 3, 9 hours after he competed on Saturday. 

Croatian gymnast Tin Srbić advanced to the final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He finished third in the qualifiers with a score of 14,633, reports Index.hr.

Srbić competed in the first subdivision, after which he took first place, but in the second subdivision, Japan's Daiki Hashimoto (15,033) and Kazakhstan's Milad Karimi (14,766) were better than the 2017 world champion. Finally, in the third subdivision, no one was better than Srbic; only the USA's Brody Malone came close, who finished fourth with a score of 14,533.

"It was quite tiring because we had to wake up very early, come to the hall 2.5-3 hours before competing, so part of the warm-up and waiting was quite tense. Nevertheless, I pushed through because, after all, this was my first Olympic appearance. But before the exercise itself, when I looked at the Olympic rings again, I said to myself, "well, I guess I won't be scared now." I used my head, and I did very well, and in the final, I will attack with an even stronger exercise," said Tin immediately after his performance. His coach Lucijan Krce added:

"I am satisfied with Tin's exercise; he had an excellent performance. Of course, we both felt the pressure of the Olympics, but he still managed to do a very good quality exercise and get a pretty high score."

The final, which is scheduled for August 3, will also include Russia's Nikita Nagonji (14,466), Japan's Takeru Kitazono (14,433), Australia's Tyson Bull (14,433), and Holland's Bart Deurloo (14,400).

There will be no Kohei Uchimura of Japan and Epke Zonderland of Holland in the final. Uchimura, who won gold in the all-around from London 2012 and Rio 2016, decided to compete in Tokyo only on the bars, but with a score of 13,866, he took 20th place and ended his career on Saturday. Flying Dutchman Zonderland, the Olympic winner in London, three-time world champion, and three-time world runner-up, took 23rd place with a score of 13,833.

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June 10, 2021 - The gymnastics spectacle in Osijek can begin! Everything is ready for the 12th edition of the DOBRO World Cup in gymnastics, which will host 140 athletes from 31 countries from Wednesday to Sunday (June 10-13) in the Gradski vrt hall.

"We have some more small details to finish, but in general everything is ready, most teams came, stayed in hotels, accredited, passed all the COVID procedures that we received from the World Gymnastics Federation and all those epidemiological measures that are currently in force in the Republic of Croatia. The hall and the whole production are 99% ready. We are all looking forward to the start of the competition. The figure of 31 countries is one of the best in terms of attendance at gymnastics competitions in the world this year. 140 competitors are coming. We also have a lot of those who are interested in the highest medals at the Olympic Games because Osijek is the last international stage in the preparations for the Olympics in Tokyo, so the competition will be very interesting for Tin, Aurel, Jakov, Filip Ude, our girls ... very interesting to follow the outcome of this competition. However, we as the Croatia national team also expect a lot from the DOBRO World Cup. It is no secret that we are expecting podiums, and all our national team members will want to show themselves in the best world at home," announced the director of the competition and vice-president of the Croatian Gymnastics Association, Vladimir Mađarević.

Slobodan Kadic

Let us remind you that Croatia has won as many as 30 medals in Osijek since 2009.

At this year's tournament, the Croatia national team will consist of Tin Srbić (horizontal bar), Aurel Benović (floor and vault), Filip Ude (pommel horse), Jakov Vlahek (pommel horse), Filip Boroša (floor), Ana Đerek (floor and beam), Tijana Korent (vault), Christina Zwicker (beam and uneven bars) and Sara Šulekić (uneven bars).

All of them attended the last press conference today before the start of tomorrow's competition. On Thursday at 3 pm, Benović and Boroša on the floor, Ude and Vlahek on the pommel horse, Korent on a vault, and Zwicker and Šulekić on uneven bars will be in the qualifications. On Friday, Srbić will be on the hunt for the finals, Benović on the vault, Zwicker on the beam, and Đerek on the beam and the floor.

Tin Srbić (gold in Osijek 2017 and 2018, bronze 2016):
"I am ready for my last check before going to the Olympics in Tokyo. I'm in great shape, we're training great. If I have to go to the Olympics tomorrow, I'm ready! Osijek will be a simulation of Tokyo for me, an exercise that I will do here, 6.2, I will also do in Tokyo. I hope to qualify for the finals so that I can try out the 6.5 exercise we are training to be ready for the Tokyo finals, which I hope. I didn’t watch the competition here. There are no strongest who will be in Tokyo. There is last year's European champion Tvorogal, but I do not see this "defeat" in Mersin as something big since I did not consider the EP very important given the whole epidemiological situation, the number of countries that came, and the trial there. I don't bother with that. I know I'm better than him. I’m not saying he’ll never beat me because I can screw up too, but if we both do the exercises, I’ll always be better than him. He’s definitely a big competitor, he does great exercises, but I repeat, if we both do ours, I’m realistically better. I have had back problems for a long time, it has been worse in recent weeks, but it is getting better. Yesterday I did exercise 6.2. I didn't think it would go this much better, but it is going."

Slobodan Kadic

Aurel Benović:
"I am not under pressure to perform in my city. I’m sorry there shouldn’t be an audience in the hall this year, but I hope that as early as next year, the fans will refill the City Garden. I expect a good performance, I am sure that none of us members of the Croatia national team will let down all those who will watch us on small screens thanks to the broadcast of HRT. I am happy that I won gold at the World Cup in Varna ten days ago with my strongest exercise. I hope that I will be able to do the same in Osijek. I didn’t study the competition, I just heard it was going to be strong, like every year. I was happy when I heard that Artem Dolgopjat had come, I look forward to meeting him again. He beat me at the EP last year, I beat him now in Varna. We will see how it will be in Osijek. The legendary Marian Dragulescu is also here, I am honored to perform with him. He is a gymnastic icon. Still, at 41, he shows that he can still perform challenging acrobatics and difficult elements on the jump. I will also perform on the vault and I will be honored to stand next to him."

Filip Ude (gold in Osijek 2014, bronze 2010 and 2013):
"I am and I am not ready. I’m not in the shape I wanted to be in, due to a shoulder injury, but in the last 2 weeks, I’ve done my best to make it OK. We are already used to Osijek being our competition, that our people can see us there and I am glad that it is so. I hope that one day a world or European championship will come to Croatia. I have not studied competition in Osijek, I never do that, I do not fight with anyone, it is not martial arts or some contact team sport. This is more of a mental sport. If you don't beat yourself, unfortunately, you won't beat anyone."

Slobodan Kadic

Ana Đerek (gold in Osijek 2019):
"For me, this is the last competition before going to the Olympics in Tokyo, which is only a few weeks away, so I am in good shape. I’ve been doing my best in training lately, because Tokyo is close, but also because this World Cup means the most to me. I trained well, and I hope that the results will follow. About 10 days ago we were at the World Cup in Varna, I competed for 4 days, I won 2 finals, I know physically that I am in shape, but you know how it is in sports, it takes a little luck to get to the finals, and then whatever. I had a small accident before coming here, from one state to another, I traveled from Split to Osijek for 2 days. Namely, before Zagreb, the tire on our car burst, we crossed a metal part that was on the road and cut our tire. Fortunately, neither I nor coach Miroslav Končarević had any other issues. But while the towing service came to pick us up, while they took us to the service station, so they didn't have tires ... My coach is still in Zagreb waiting for the tires, and I came to Osijek with the Zagreb team. But nothing rattled me before the performance. It wasn't that scary. I’m more sorry we’re going to perform without spectators this year. The audience is the No. 1 favorite thing of this World Cup. They are something special. But everything is going in the direction that we will soon return to normal life."

Slobodan Kadic

Tijana Korent (silver in Osijek 2009, bronze 2010):
"Given that in Varna 10 days ago the final escaped me by 0.001 points, which is partly discouraging, I hope that I will make up for that crumb in this competition and that I will fight in the final on Saturday. I have silver and bronze from Osijek, I would not complain about completing medals ... But, considering the competition here, it will be difficult. Although, when you’re in the finals there’s always that factor that we all often forget, and that’s luck. It's not all about training. We can be in great shape, but if just a little bit of luck is missing, it doesn't have to turn out well."

Christina Zwicker:
"I'm ready. I don't have too many goals in terms of results, just to do both exercises the way I know how to train. The competition here, thank God, is very strong. However, the Games are at the door and everyone came here, and there is always a perfect organization, hall, everything, so it is clear to me why all the best always come to Osijek. It's simple, everyone here feels perfect."

Sara Šulekić:
"I don't have any additional anxiety. Although I am still a junior by age, this will be my third competition in a row among the "big girls" and I am slowly adjusting. I hope that I will be able to perform my exercise the way we do in training, and that is the only thing that matters to me here for the first time."

Slobodan Kadic

Jakov Vlahek:
“Just three days ago, I landed from Egypt where I won silver at the World Cup in Cairo, but honestly, I’m not tired. I have been waiting for five years to get the opportunity to perform in Osijek and I am really happy to be here. I hope that I will be able to repeat the good performances from Cairo."

Filip Boroša:
"First of all, it is a great honor for me to be part of the Croatia national team in Osijek and to have the opportunity to perform here for the first time. I am sure that each of us on the team will do our best not to disappoint and to justify our colors."

The ceremonial opening of the competition is on the program on Saturday at 12.45, and both final days, will be live broadcasts from Osijek on HRT 2.

Follow the Livescore results at the link https://osijekgym.com/rezultati/

All information about the DOBRO World Cup can be found at the link http://osijekgym.com/

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To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

December 18, 2020 - The Croatia women's gymnastics team will fight in four finals at the European Championships in Mersin on Sunday!

Namely, T.portal reports that Tijana Korent, Ana Đerek, Christina Zwicker, Tina Zelčić, and Petra Furač will fight in the Croatia team final, and in the hunt for individual medals, Korent will perform on the vault and Zwicker on uneven bars and balance beam.

The Croatia women's team took sixth place in Thursday's qualifiers with 140,064 points and will fight in the final among the six best European teams in Mersin on Saturday.

The Croatia women's gymnastics team's only individual final so far was achieved by Tijana Korent in the European Championships in Moscow in 2013. Now, seven years later, Tijana has achieved another final, after she was eighth in the qualifiers with 13,383 points.

"I am overjoyed and very pleased to qualify for the final on the vault. I am also looking forward to the team entering the final because it is a special result. We haven't played as a team for a long time, so I'm really looking forward to the final on Saturday. I am happy that I could be here at all after everything that happened to me; we finally needed a little luck in this competition. Waiting for this result was really good to train the nerves because waiting until the last gymnast in the qualifiers to see whether you entered the final or not, after already having performed, is something that this sport brings. Still, it is not the most comfortable feeling," said Koret.

Croatian Gymnastics Federation

Christina Zwicker will be in two finals on Sunday. She was seventh on the uneven bars with 12,600 points. At the same time, she finished 10th on the beam (12,100) but entered the final as the seventh, as there were four Romanians and three Ukrainians ahead of her, and only two representatives of one country can be in the final.

"This turned out better than expected. I performed as I planned; the bars and beams were excellent, resulting in the finals. But still, two finals… That was not expected. I knew that if I did well and if everything was arranged properly, it would be possible, but in two… I didn't expect that. Plus, we also made it to the team finals; I’m really very happy and satisfied. I have no words. I start talking, and there are tears of joy," said 18-year-old Zwicker.

Croatia's best gymnast, Ana Đerek, came to Mersin only a few hours before the qualifications. She was fatigued, out of training, and uncertain of whether she would come to Turkey at all (she only received a negative COVID result on Wednesday).

"For me, these qualifiers have not been very successful, but we have a team final, and that is great. I made two mistakes that cost me two finals but considering everything I went through last week and what I did is quite OK. I know I can do a lot better, and I know it’s not fair that everything was so complicated and went the wrong way for me, but it’s also a part of life, and I know you don’t always get what you deserve. However, gymnastics taught me the most times how to get up after you fall, and now I am repeating the material," said Ana Đerek.

On Friday, the junior qualification program will be held where Croatia is represented by Sara Šulekić (ZTD Hrvatski Sokol), Emi Matoščević (GK Rijeka), Nika Kukuljan Frleta (GK Rijeka), Antea Ercegović (GK Marjan) and Katerina Strinić (GK Marjan).

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November 22, 2019 - Croatian gymnast Robert Seligman advanced to the Cottbus World Cup finals in the pommel horse discipline, to be held on Saturday afternoon.

HRT reports that Seligman ranked sixth in the qualifying round with a score of 14,366, among as many as 45 gymnasts. Croatia’s other national team representative who also happens to be from Osijek, Renato Prpic, ended his appearance at the 44th Turnier der Meister in 30th place with a score of 12,766 due to a fall. 

The news of Seligman making the final is even greater when you consider that Cottbus is one of the last four World Cup tournaments to compete in for a spot at the Tokyo Olympics. The next tournament is in 2020 in Melbourne, Baku and Doha.

“Fortunately for me, the qualifications were fantastic. Although we waited for almost 2.5 hours to perform, I performed in the ninth, penultimate group. The competition was really great, almost like in the recent World Cup. Maybe even better since there were a lot of specialists who couldn't get into their teams,” Seligman said after the qualifications, in which the Chinese gymnast Hao Weng had the highest rating (15,100).

“I performed without a mistake from start to finish, although I had a little weaker start at 5.9, I did that on purpose because I knew that two-tenths more would not bring me anything in the beginning, and mentally I would make it easier to do my exercise without error, which I managed. Honestly, I was surprised by my rating of 14,366, it's quite low, but later I saw that many others were rejected. All in all, I am satisfied, I have regained the confidence lost in the World Cup and now I see that I have a chance to be in the fight for a medal. I will raise my starting rating to 6.1 and do my best to do it again without a major mistake,” Robert said.

His coach, Vladimir Magarevic, is also pleased.

“We have restored confidence in the most important part of the Olympic qualifications. The point is that Robert regained faith in himself and showed himself that the hunt for Tokyo is not yet lost. He felt good before and during the performance, he controlled everything, although there were 45 gymnasts at the start, 20 top pommel horse gymnasts, and a lot of specialists in this discipline,” said Mađarevic.

The pommel horse finals are scheduled for 2 pm on Saturday.

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