Winter Olympics: No medals for Croatia but a Croat does win one
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
After two weeks of competition, the 2022 Winter Olympics have come to an end in Beijing.
11 athletes represented Croatia in Beijing – Zrinka Ljutić, Leona Popović, Andrea Komšić, Filip Zubčić, Matej Vidović, Samuel Kolega, Lea Jugovac and Valentina Aščić – in skiing, snowboarding and speed skating events, but none were able to pick up a medal.
Despite Croatia leaving Beijing empty-handed, a Croat did leave the Games with a medal.
27-year-old Croat Mislav Rosandić won a bronze medal as part of the Slovakia men’s ice hockey team. The Zagreb-born defence-man helped his team defeat Sweden in the bronze-medal match to claim bronze. It was Slovakia’s first Olympic ice hockey medal in history.
The former Mladost player inherited his love for ice hockey from his father and at the age of 14 he moved to Slovakia to further his career.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Croatia cannot compete with hockey nations such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic or Scandinavian countries,” he told daily 24sata.
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Rosandić, who represented Slovakia at junior level, plays his club ice hockey for the HC Bílí Tygři Liberec of the Czech Extraliga.