2014 Croatian Sports Year in Review
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
2014 is drawing to an end and once again the small nation of Croatia has excelled on the world sporting stage. Croatian sportspeople took part in 149 World Champs in 2014 (94 senior and 55 junior), 100 European Champs (92 senior, 8 junior), 192 World Cups (124 senior, 68 junior) and 59 European Cups (33 senior and 26 junior), winning 331 medals in the process. Here are just some of the year’s highlights…
Athletics
– Sandra Perković (Discus) – Gold at European Championships – 1st athlete in history to win 3 European Discus Championships in a row, Diamond League winner
– Ana Šimić (High Jump) – Bronze at European Championships
– Martin Marković – Gold at World Junior Championships
Badminton
– Katarina Galenić and Maja Pavlinić – U17 Doubles Gold at European Championships
Basketball
– Croatia U18 – Bronze at European Championships
– NBA debuts for Bojan Bogdanović (Brooklyn Nets) and Damjan Rudež (Indiana Pacers)
Boxing
– Toni Filipi – Silver at Youth Olympics
– Luka Plantić – Bronze at Youth Olympics
Crossbow
– Croatia – Gold at IAU World Championships
Football
– Luka Modrić – UEFA Champions League title, FIFA World Club Cup title
Gymnastics
– Filip Ude (Men’s Pommel Horse) – Silver at World Championships
Rowing
– Valent and Martin Sinković (Men’s Double Sculls) – Gold at World Championships, became the first Men’s Double Sculls rowers to go under six minutes over 2,000 metres in the history of the sport
MMA
– Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipović – IGF Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) title
Sailing
– Ivan Kljaković Gašpić (Finn Class) – Became World Number 1
Skiing
– Ivica Kostelić – Silver at Sochi Winter Olympics
Taekwando
– Lucija Zaninović – Gold at World Grand Prix, became World Number 1
– Ana Zaninović – Gold at European Championships
Tennis
– Marin Čilić – US Open winner
– Borna Ćorić – ATP Star of Tomorrow Award winner
– Ivan Dodig – Doubles runner-up at ATP Masters Final, US Open semi final
– Borna Devald – Orange Bowl title winner
Water Polo
– Croatia U19 – Bronze at European Championships
