Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
VK Jadran Split: Croatia |
General Interest |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning silver at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and claiming gold at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. (SportskaTelevizija YouTube channel, 11 Apr 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Mile Smodlaka [club], CRO |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Family |
Sons Luka and Rino [2019] |
Higher education |
Economics, Management - Business School PAR: Rijeka, CRO |
Sport Specific Information |
Preferred position / style / stance / technique |
Wing |
Handedness |
Right |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
Croatian, English, Italian |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began playing water polo in Split, Croatia. "I was in swimming for about one year, and I went to water polo when I was eight or nine years old." |
General Interest |
Injuries |
He suffered a rib injury during a Champions League game in December 2019. Due to the injury, he missed the 2020 European Championship in Budapest, Hungary. (slobodnadalmacija.hr, 11 Dec 2019; 24sata.hr, 22 Jan 2020)
He injured ligaments in his right wrist in 2017. (Bozanstvena Komedija YouTube channel, 27 Oct 2017) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Everything is possible if you really want it." (Bozanstvena Komedija YouTube channel, 27 Oct 2017) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
He and a friend went to a test event at the VK Jadran Split club. Coaches at the club noticed his potential and he liked the game, so he decided to start training. |
General Interest |
Other information |
RETIREMENT PLANS He hopes to remain involved in the sport when he retires from competitive sport. "In this period of life, really often I'm thinking about [retirement] because it will be really soon [speaking in January 2022]. So, because of that I studied sports management. I also have a degree in coaching. It's not easy to find some other jobs far away from water polo. I think I will stay in one part of water polo. I will see what it will be, maybe coaching." (europeamedia.es, 28 Jan 2022) |