Franka Gamoš from Tenja surprised with her speed despite being a handball player, and alongside her, Croatia will be represented at the International Finals of the 30th season of the Plazma Youth Sports Games by 1,224 participants from six countries.
Today in Split, the international finals of the 30th edition of the Plazma Youth Sports Games begin. Organizers report that until August 22, 1,224 competitors from six countries will compete in ten sports. These are the winners of the national finals from five SIM member countries: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia, along with guest children from Ukraine.
Among the Croatian competitors, Osijek athletes stand out. In volleyball, Croatia is represented by the Retfala team (Osijek) in the men's competition, while in beach volleyball, Tuljani (Osijek) compete in the men's and Keri (Osijek) in the women's competition. In chess, Luka Martinović (Osijek) plays for Croatia.
In the 60-meter dash for women, Franka Gamoš (Osijek), a girl from Tenja who usually plays handball, will run. Her quality in team sports, as seen from her performance at Plazma, includes not only handball skills but also speed.
"Handball is my sport, and I tried this just to see. Everyone was surprised, but I wasn't. I knew I was faster..." said Franka. At her school, OŠ Tenja, they knew this as early as April 30, 2026, when she beat the competition at the event held at the Srednjoškolsko igralište. A 4th-grade student at the time, she secured her spot in the national finals.
In the Coca-Cola Cup, MNK Futsal Pula competes in the men's, and Arena Pula in the women's competition. In the Tommy small-sided football tournament, Croatia is represented by NK Zadarnova (Zadar). In the men's part of the 3x3 Sprite Cup, Borik Bjelovar (Bjelovar) and Međimurje (Čakovec) participate, while in the women's part, Six Seven (Dugopolje) and Šibenik (Šibenik) play.
In the GEN-I volleyball cup, alongside Retfala, Senfovi (Zagreb) compete in the women's competition. In the men's beach volleyball category, the teams are Dino & Petar from Split and Tuljani from Osijek, while in the women's category, Mile from Pula and Keri from Osijek compete.
In the Kinder Joy table tennis tournament, the men's competition features Andrej Tomić from Bjelovar, Marko Kardum from Kutina, David Los from Daruvar, and Dino Ljubić Lambaša from Šibenik, while the women's competition includes Jana Grđan from Kutina, Antonija Lukić from Kutina, Ema Brodarić from Sisak, and Lota Livić from Šibenik.
In the HEP handball tournament, Croatia is represented in the men's competition by RK Ardiaei (Dubrovnik) and in the women's by ŽRK Metković (Metković). As part of Telemach Sports Day, in the 60-meter dash, the male competitors are Tom Kotenko from Sisak, Josip Juroš from Zagreb, Tin Kalšan from Prelog, Lovro Popijač from Koprivnica, Juro Marković from Požega, and Patrik Buntak from Velika Gorica. In the women's competition, alongside Franka Gamoš, the runners are Mia Šinjori (Varaždin), Sara Žarak (Gospić), Franka Sokač (Križevci), Sara Sunjski (Karlovac), and Maša Nekić (Rijeka).
In the mixed grenadier competition, Pume (Varaždin) and Vatreni topovi (Prelog) participate. In the Wiener osiguranje chess tournament, for Croatia in the men's competition, Alan Katušić from Crikvenica, Viktor Gašparec from Đurđevac, Tin Biti from Zagreb, and Luka Martinović from Osijek play, while in the women's competition, Petra Vidić from Đakovo, Ema Ljubić Poljak from Zagreb, Ines Košar from Zagreb, and Matea Račević from Dubrovnik play. In tennis, our representatives are Mijo Markovica from Virovitica and Ivan Pavao Jurić from Zagreb in the men's competition, and Lena Fonai from Donji Miholjac and Sara Hosjak from Varaždin in the women's.
The highlight of the finals is August 20 and 21. On Thursday, the Riva hosts All-Star Day: a chess simultaneous exhibition with grandmasters Mariya Muzychuk and Nigel Short, the Sprite 3x3 Cup finals, and at 9 PM, the extinguishing of the Games' flame with a music and stage program, a drone spectacle, and a concert by Crvena jabuka. On Friday, a ceremonial event will be held at the Croatian National Theatre in Split, where Goran Ivanišević, Ana Ivanović, and Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, will become new ambassadors of the Games.
At Prokurative, an interactive quiz "Become a Green SIM Ambassador" will follow, led by Dean Kotiga, part of the project "Zero Waste, Be Part of the Game, Let's Protect Our Planet." The highlight of the 30th anniversary celebration will be an All-Star football match at Prokurative, where an All-Star team will face a team of Plazma Youth Sports Games participants. Among the guests are Aleksander Čeferin, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Luis Figo, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Alastair Campbell, Željko Obradović, Slaven Bilić, Ettore Messina, Predrag Mijatović, Nemanja Vidić, Aleksandar Kolarov, Šime Vrsaljko, Goran Dragić, Darijo Srna, Nemanja Matić, Dino Rađa, Nikola Karabatić, Marcel Desailly, Aitor Karanka, Mario Stanić, Christian Karembeu, Fernando Hierro, Radoslav Nesterović, Aljoša Asanović, and many others.
