February 20, 2022 - The youngest Croatian Olympian and cross-country skier Tena Hadžić will carry the Croatian flag at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Sunday. 

Croatian cross-country skier Marko Skender (20) finished his debut performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 57th place in the ski marathon (mass start), which, due to the great cold (-16 degrees) and icy wind, was shortened from the usual 50 kilometers to the "women's version" of the same discipline - 30 km.

The gold medal was won by the Russian Alexander Bolshunov (25), who finished on the podium for the third time at the Chinese National Cross-Country Ski Center Zhangjiakou (for the fifth medal in Beijing in total). He triumphed with a time of 1:11:32.7, or 5.5 seconds ahead of second-placed compatriot Ivan Jakimushkin and precisely 7 seconds ahead of third-placed Norwegian Simen Hegstad Krueger.

Marko Skender managed to finish the race with great perseverance and enter the finish line 19:01.8 minutes behind the Olympic winner Bolshunov. Weaker than Skender in this race were Brazilian Manex Silva and Greek Apostolos Angelis. This is also Skender's best placement at the Beijing Games - he was 69th in the sprint, while he took 85th place in the 15 km race.

The youngest Croatian Olympian and marathon skier Tena Hadžić will thus carry the Croatian flag at the closing ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympics on Sunday (1 pm local time), announced the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC).

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, at the closing ceremony of the Games, the flag can be carried by one athlete.

Most of Croatia's representatives have already left the Chinese capital, so this honor remained in the competence of the cross-country skiing trio. 

Since Marko Skender was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Games, and Vedrana Malec has a very demanding performance in the ski marathon (30 km) on the last day of her third and final Games, the choice fell on the 17-year-old from Zagreb.

Tena Hadžić will join Marko Skender and Zrinka Ljutić and complete the story of Croatian Olympic debutants as flag bearers at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Source: HOO

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

February 5, 2022 - Valentina Aščić was not only the first Croatia representative to compete in Beijing, but she became the first-ever Croatian to compete in speed skating at the Winter Olympics! 

Valentina Aščić is the first Croatia representative to compete at the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the first-ever Croatian to compete in speed skating! 

The 23-year-old Zagreb native fulfilled her dream. Valentina Aščić performed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, in a discipline where Croatia was represented for the first time in its history. Aščić had her first appearance in the 500 meters race, and in a strong competition, she failed to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

Aščić performed immediately in the first group in respectable company with Florence Brunelle of Canada, Selma Poutsma of the Netherlands, and Tifany Huot Marchand of France.

Aščić finished third in the group with a time of 44,681 after the Frenchwoman fell in the middle of the race and dropped out. The two best from each of the eight groups and four other best third-place finishers went to the quarterfinals. 

Aščić was 23rd out of the 32 speedskaters in today's race. She could have hoped to advance but depended on the result of other skaters. After the sixth group, she was overtaken by four third-placed competitors, leaving the Croatian Olympian without a chance for the quarterfinals. 

"When I went out on the ice, it seemed like a dream, but I managed to recover. I am delighted with the result, so I somehow planned to be around 20th place. I had a great start and was third already at the start, but I was a little disturbed by one girl's fall due to contact, which is in our sport, and then a repeat start. I can go much faster; I just needed a little better preparation because I skated on this ice for the first time," said Aščić after her debut.

The KBK Meteor Zagreb member, currently the only speed skating club in Croatia, is expected to perform in the 1500 meters on February 16. 

Aščić has been training in Belgium since the Zagreb earthquake, with Dutch coach Ingmar van Riel. She had been waiting a long time to go to Beijing. Namely, as she was recently infected with COVID-19, she had to have four negative PCR tests before boarding a plane to China. She arrived just two days before the race.

Source: HOO

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

The Olympian luger has cited conflict and lack of support from the Croatian Luge Federation as the reason. 

An incredible act of kindness by Split luger Daria Obratov has been nominated for the European Fair Play Award. 

Dražen Silić has been chosen to carry the Croatian flag at the closing ceremony of the XXIII. Winter Olympics.

Young Croatian skier Leona Popović will not have fond memories of her first performance at the Winter Olympics, after she suffered a heavy knee injury after a fall on Thursday.

Exciting news for the Croatian bobsled team in the upcoming Winter Olympics!