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Olympic Games

Up until state independence in 1991, Croatian sportsmen competed under a foreign flag, sharing the fate of their country. Finally on 8 February 1992, under their own flag, Croatian sportsmen were able to compete as a part of the small but independent Croatian Olympic delegation at the winter Olympic games in Albertville in France in 1992. In the analogy of the Olympics it will be remembered that one country received an invitation to compete at the Olympic Games only 20 days after it joined the IOC, and that the COC was accepted into IOC membership 4 months and 7 days after being founded.

The first appearance of Croatian sportsmen under the Croatian flag, which was led by the first President of the COC, Antun Vrdoljak today a member of the International Olympic Committee (since 1995), will have a special place in the history of Croatia at the Olympics.

At the Olympic games in Barcelona in 1992, Croatian sportsmen achieved a great Olympic and basketball victory by winning the silver medal after a unique final against the so-called 'Dream team', the professional USA representative side.

Goran Ivanišević and Goran Prpic added two bronze medals to Croatia's tally.

In Atlanta in 1996, the Croatian anthem was played for the victory of the men's handball team and Croatia's first gold medal at the Olympic Games.

The water-polo team returned from Atlanta with a silver medal. This series of successes for Croatian sportsmen was continued at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 with a gold medal for weight lifter Nikolaj Pešalov and a bronze for the men's rowing eight's.

At the winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002, Janica Kostelić, at the time with 12 victories in the skiing World Cup, won 3 gold and 1 silver medal in Alpine skiing. In the history of the winter Olympics since 1924, only two skiers have won three gold medals at the one Olympiad - Austrian Tony Sailer (1956) and Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy (1968).

In Athens in 2004, handball team won the gold medal, silver medals were won by Duje Draganja (swimming, 50m freestyle) and brothers Siniša and Nikša Skelin in rowing. Bronze medal was awarded to tennis players Mario Ančić and Ivan Ljubičić (doubles).

In Torino in 2006. Ivica Kostelić won the silver medal in combination. 

Medals of Croatian Sportsmen