Three days before the start of the European Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Croatian Gymnastics Federation at the Croatian Sports Museum. Ude and Srbić ready to perform in front of the home crowd.
At the Croatian Sports Museum in Zagreb on Monday, a cooperation agreement was signed between the institution and the Croatian Gymnastics Federation (HGS), symbolically marking the start of the countdown to the European Gymnastics Championships. HGS President Marijo Možnik presented museum director Danira Bilić with a set of medals that will be awarded at the championship, which will be on display for visitors.
Director Bilić emphasized the importance of this partnership for young athletes. "This agreement should establish a practice where young gymnasts come to the museum and learn about the history of gymnastics and sports in general, so they remain motivated on their athletic journey," she stated.
Možnik, who himself donated his bronze medal from the 2014 World Championships to the museum, highlighted the Federation's dual responsibility. "Besides our job of creating new results, it is our duty and responsibility to preserve the memories of successes in Croatian sports, in our specific case, gymnastics. Through this collaboration, we will strive to connect the past, present, and future of Croatian gymnastics," Možnik said.
The museum already features two Croatian Olympic silver medalists who will compete next week at the Zagreb Arena. Filip Ude, who won silver on the pommel horse in Beijing 2008, revealed that he might also enrich the museum's collection. "I might decide to lend my medal to the museum so people can see it. At home, it just collects dust," Ude said.
The 40-year-old Ude admitted that he is competing with an injury that would otherwise have sent him to the operating table. "Honestly, if this European Championship were held anywhere else, I wouldn't compete but would have surgery on my injured shoulder. However, in my mind, it was worth risking a more severe injury because I couldn't miss the chance to perform on home turf. My only goal is to give my maximum," he stated.
Zagreb native Tin Srbić, who won silver on the horizontal bar five years ago in Tokyo, is eagerly anticipating performing in front of his home fans. "It's a great honor and pleasure that such a major competition will take place in my city while I'm still active. All my friends have already bought tickets for the final; they're not interested in the qualifications. If I do my routine well in the qualifications, I should make it to the final, and then it's a fight for a medal," Srbić announced.
The HGS president invited all sports fans to come to the Zagreb Arena, which will host a historic edition of the European Championship in three days. "This will be a record-breaking European Championship in terms of the number of competitors, with more than 600 coming from 43 different countries. Come to the Arena with your family and spend a few pleasant hours," Možnik urged.
In addition to top-tier sports competition, the organizers have prepared entertainment with performances by renowned Croatian musicians Mia Dimšić, Ana Rucner, and Baby Lasagna. Due to the partitioning of the hall, where a fenced-off training area has been set up alongside the competition area, the Arena's capacity has been reduced to 5,000 seats.
