Hribar: We've Restored Interest in Swimming
Croatian swimming team travels to the European Championships in Paris on Saturday with 14 representatives, and the goals are clear, personal bests and a fight for semifinals.
Croatian swimming team travels to the European Championships in Paris on Saturday with 14 representatives, and the goals are clear, personal bests and a fight for semifinals.
Ahead of the departure to the European Championships in Paris, which begins on Monday, August 10, 2026, Croatian swimmers met with journalists. The biggest star, Sportske novosti' Athlete of the Year for 2025, Jere Hribar, did not hide his satisfaction with the increased media interest.
"I really thank you because it's nice to see this many journalists, unlike last time. At this moment, that seems to me like the biggest victory of Croatian swimming so far," Hribar said at the gathering on Friday, August 7, 2026, a day before the trip to Paris.
Dubrovnik native Vlaho Nenadić, the junior European vice-champion from Lithuania in 2024, will compete in the 100m freestyle in Paris, and his participation in the relay is also expected. "I've been competing in the 100m for a year or two now, so I think I'm well trained. I used to swim the 200m freestyle," Nenadić said.
The young swimmer doesn't hide his optimism and points out that this has been his best season so far. "As for form, I feel good. Not just now. I'd say this has been my best season yet. That's why I'm really looking forward to competing at the European Championships," he added.
Nenadić is also clear about his goals: "The goal in Paris... Well, I always have a time in mind, I set that as a goal, not a placement. So if I swim 47.5, I'm satisfied. I'd love a semifinal individually and a final with the relay. Of course, if I'm part of it."
One of the two female representatives in the Croatian team and also the most experienced member of the national team, Amina Kajtaz Pinjo, will compete at her seventh European Championships. In Paris, she will face the 100m and 200m butterfly events.
"This is already my seventh European Championships. I'm going without pressure, to enjoy it to the fullest, and give my best to perform my best in those events, the 100 and 200 butterfly. In the 100 butterfly, the competition will definitely be tougher and stronger. I'd be satisfied with a semifinal, which I believe would be easier to achieve in the 200 butterfly," Kajtaz Pinjo said.
When asked what such experience brings and what is crucial on race day, she replied: "Definitely the way I can focus on the race. There's no fear. I already know how to start, how many strokes I'll take. Now I'll focus mentally to the maximum."
However, she admits that there is also an element of unpredictability in swimming: "And what's crucial... It depends, sometimes the luck factor plays a role. Sometimes you can wake up and everything goes as you planned, and sometimes no matter how hard you try, everything goes wrong. I hope we all get lucky in Paris, that none of us gets hit by that day when things just don't go your way."
The Croatian swimming expedition, which numbers 14 representatives, travels to Paris on Saturday, August 8, 2026, hoping that the City of Light will also be the city confirming the rebirth of Croatian swimming.
