There’s a reason why they call athletics the queen of sports. It’s a sport where it is extremely difficult to get a world title. There are a few sportspersons in Croatia that are in that sport (no matter in what discipline), and one of the most successful is a young girl from Split, Blanka Vlašić. As a member of ASK club in Split, training in modest conditions and enduring many health problems Blanka succeeded in getting numerous top results on different athletic meetings. Apart from being the owner of numerous medals which she won in high jump discipline, she also set her personal and Croatian indoors record by jumping over 201 metres.

According to many the best Croatian basketball player of all times is the player from Split, Toni Kukoč. At the moment he is at the end of his rich career in this sport. What is interesting is that he is still actively playing in the NBA league although he is in the second part of his thirties. After the brilliant days in Split’s club “Jugoplastika” with which he conquered Europe three times, the series of trophies and the title of the best player on the World Championship in 1990 and two excellent seasons in Italian club “Benetton” he went to the legendary “Chicago Bulls” in the middle of 90’s.

When we talk about legends and the air of success, maybe brought in this region by the lovely Adriatic, the first thing that comes to mind to the young and the old inhabitants of this region are, locally called “masters from Firule”. Namely, in this neighbourhood near the sea with tennis courts, some of the most quality tennis players in Croatia and even in the world have lived. Tennis school in Firule gave Nikola Pilić, Željko Franulović, Goran Ivanišević and young active (getting better) Mario Ančić.

Split Hiking Society called “Mosor” has a very long tradition. The most important success in alpinism achieved the legendary Stipe Božić who scaled the highest world’s peak Mount Everest in 1979. That wasn’t the only time he scaled “the top of the world”. He took an important place in world’s alpinist elite symbolically engaging himself in alpinism for more than a half of century although it doesn’t bring him any material profit or prestige enjoyed by other sportsmen. 

The greatest success in the history of Croatian swimming was Đurđica Bjedov, a member of Split swimming club “Mornar”, when she won golden and silver medal on 100 and 200 metres breast-stroke on the Olympics in Mexico in 1968.

Illyrians have sailed the Adriatic from as early as the 11th century in order to defend it from the invaders. Even the adventurous Greeks came near to one of the most beautiful coasts of the world in making their colonies. After the old Romans had pervaded, they sailed with their battle and merchant vessels across the Mediterranean and they left a particular mark on the Adriatic. Later, through centuries, Croats sailed these waters starting with the reign of the duke Domagoj, across the first Croatian king Tomislav till the end of Petar Krešimir’s kingdom. Maritime forces Byzantium and the Venetian Republic also tried to dominate this sea area, and they all followed the Latin saying terra marique what means to be strong on land and on sea.