Croatia Outshines Two Superpowers!

Croatia's athletics team returned from the European Championships in Birmingham with two medals-Sara Kolak's gold in the javelin throw and Marino Bloudek's silver in the 800 meters-along with one more final and two semifinal appearances. In the medal standings, Croatia finished tied for 12th place with Greece and Hungary, leaving behind Slovenia, Slovakia, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Serbia, as well as athletics powerhouses Poland and France, which won a total of 19 medals but no golds.

In total, Croatia now has 19 medals from European Championships: 11 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Before this year's European Championships, they had 17, of which 10 were in throwing events, 3 in jumping, and 4 in running. Of the running medals, two were won more than half a century ago, one 32 years ago, and the most recent in the marathon in 2022.

Historic Success in Birmingham

Sara Kolak (31) won gold in the javelin throw with a result of 62.43 meters in the final, after placing third in the qualifications with 60.82 meters. Marino Bloudek (27) took silver in the 800 meters with a time of 1:45.62 in the final, improving on his semifinal performance where he ran 1:44.96 for tenth place.

Marija Tolj finished sixth in the discus final with a throw of 63.08 meters, while Nina Vuković (800 m) and Veronika Drljačić (400 m) reached the semifinals. Vuković ran a personal best of 1:58.38 in the heats, and Drljačić achieved her season's best of 51.61 in the semifinal.

Depth Never Before Seen in Croatian Athletics

Of the 16 athletes who competed in Birmingham, eight come from different clubs (ASK, Dinamo-Zrinjevac, Karlovac, Kvarner, Mladost, Sloboda, Sveti Ante, Zagreb) and six cities (Karlovac, Knin, Rijeka, Split, Varaždin, Zagreb). Alongside head coach Damir Bošnjak, there were nine other coaches in Birmingham.

Mladen Kršek (65), whom Branko Zorko called "the best coach for middle and long distances in Croatian history," has only now, with Bloudek, achieved his first medal at a major senior competition. Igor Čordaš (54) led Andrea Ivančević to Croatian records in the 100 meters and 100 meters hurdles, and Nikolina Horvat to a record in the 400 meters hurdles, while Natalija Švenda broke that record. Patrik Koščak (49) is the coach from whose Varaždin "incubator" emerged his daughter Jana, Roko Farkaš, and Karlo Marciuš, while the experienced Ante Pavković (56) is doing an excellent job with Vita Barbić.

A Bright Future

Junior champions Jana Koščak (20) and Vita Barbić (19) gained valuable experience in Birmingham. Koščak withdrew after the third event of the heptathlon, while Barbić finished 26th in the javelin qualifications. Roko Farkaš (21), a former world junior champion, missed the European Championships due to injury, and Mia Wild (20) and Nina Jambrešić (22), who is second on Croatia's all-time list in the 1500 meters behind record holder Zorko, are yet to come.

Sandra Elkasević (36), a seven-time consecutive European champion, is expected to return after a break this season, fully prepared and hungry for more medals. Sara Kolak is young enough for a thrower to enter her fifth Olympic cycle even after Los Angeles.

All Croatian Performances in Birmingham

Filip Pravdica, an Olympic finalist from Paris, finished 20th in the long jump qualifications with 7.62 meters, while Marko Čeko was 26th with 7.39 meters. Matija Gregurić was 15th in the hammer throw qualifications with 73.49 meters, and Ivan Geronimo Šerić had no valid jump in the pole vault qualifications. Karlo Marciuš was 21st in the 200 meters with a time of 21.24, Bruno Belčić was 32nd in the 3000 meters steeplechase with 9:00.76, and Natalija Švenda was 22nd in the 400 meters hurdles with 57.28. Magdalena Perić (13.44 m) and Paola Borović (13.23 m) finished 23rd and 24th in the triple jump qualifications.

Croatian athletics is definitely in a good place right now, as Birmingham confirmed.