Croatia at the Olympic Games for First Time as Independent Nation 25 Years Ago Today
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Goran Ivanišević carried the Croatian flag out at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Barcelona (D. Skaro)
25 years ago today Croatian athletes competed for the first time under their own Croatian flag at the Summer Olympic Games.
On 25 July 1992 tennis player Goran Ivanišević carried the Croatian flag out at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
It was the first Summer Olympics, after the Winter Olympics earlier in the year, that Croatian athletes competed for Croatia.
“Carrying the flag at the opening ceremony, with the Wimbledon win, was probably the biggest thing in my sporting life. To carry it out for the first time with the Croatian team behind me we got a great welcome. It was really something amazing,” Goran said.
Goran with the flag at the 1992 Summer Olympics (DSkaro under CC)
At the first Olympic Games in 1992, thirty-nine athletes represented Croatia with the team winning 3 medals – 1 silver and 2 bronze.
Bronze went to the men’s basketball team who lost to the USA in the final, whilst Ivanišević collected bronze in the tennis. Ivanišević and his partner Goran Prpić also won bronze in the doubles.
Footage from the games and Goran talks about how it felt to carry the flag out for the first time below.
Since 1992 Croatia has won 33 medals at the Summer Olympics, including 11 golds.
Croatia claimed silver in the basketball – losing to USA in the final (Screenshot)
Last year in Rio was the team’s most successful year with a haul of 10 medals, including 5 golds.
