The most important word - Sport

The most important word - Sport

Split natives are particularly fond of telling of their sporting prowess, in football, basketball, tennis, sailing, with a number of stars, like Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević, basketball star Toni Kukoč, mountain climber Stipe Božić.

Sportsmen are traditionally held in high regard in Split, and the city is famous for producing many champions. The most popular sports in Split are football (soccer), tennis, basketball, swimming, rowing, sailing, waterpolo, athletics, and handball. Residents of Split like to call their city "the sportiest city in the world". The main football (soccer) club is Croatian Football Club Hajduk (CFC Hajduk), the most popular club in Croatia supported by a large fan association known as Torcida Split, while RNK Split is the city's second club. Torcida Split is the oldest fan group in Europe, founded in 1950. The largest football stadium is the Poljud Stadium (CFC Hajduk's ground), with around 35,000 capacity (55,000 prior to the renovation to an all-seater). Slaven Bilić, Aljoša Asanović, Igor Tudor, and Stipe Pletikosa are some of the famous Split natives who started their careers at Hajduk.

Basketball is also popular, and the city basketball club, KK Split (Jugoplastika Split), holds the record of winning the Euroleague three consecutive times (1989–1991), with notable players like Toni Kukoč and Dino Rađa, both of whom are Split natives. The whole Europe admired the Split basketball club, which was, according to some surveys, pronounced the best European basketball club of all times! Such an acknowledgement among the competition of the great basketball giants, as Real Madrid, CSKA from Moscow, Ignis from Varese, Maccabi from Tel Aviv and other great European clubs, is surely the biggest possible acknowledgement to Split`s basketball and the city of Split, the sportiest city in the world.

Split’s most famous tennis players are the retired 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanišević, Mario Ančić ("Super Mario"), Nikola Pilić and Željko Franulović. Members of the local rowing club HVK Gusar have won numerous Olympic and World Championship medals. Swimming also has a long tradition in Split, with Đurđica Bjedov (1968 Olympic Gold Medal and Olympic record in the 100 m breaststroke), Duje Draganja and Vanja Rogulj as the most famous swimmers from the city. As a member of the ASK Split athletics club, the champion Blanka Vlašić also originates from the city. Ivano Balić, two-time IHF World Player of the Year, is the most famous handball player to come from Split. Split used to be the home to three highest-level water polo clubs, the winners of many domestic and international titles: Jadran (twice LEN Champions League winner),Mornar (LEN Cup Winners' Cup winner) and now defunct POŠK (one LEN Champions League, one LEN Supercup and two times LEN Cup Winners' Cup winner). Many players from Split have participated at Olympic Games, World and European Championships, both for Croatia and former Yugoslavia, having won lots of medals. Several water polo players from Split during their careers have been considered the best in the world: Ratko Rudić, Damir Polić, Milivoj Bebić, Deni Lušić. Stipe Božić, a famous alpinist, is also from Split. Split recorded successes in taekwondo, sisters Ana and Lucija Zaninović. Split is proud of its superior sailing. Sailing clubs are Labud, Mornar and Zenta.

Picigin is a traditional local sport (originating in 1908), played on the famous sandy beach Bačvice. It is played in a very shallow water (just ankle deep) with a small ball. Picigin is played by five players. The peeled tennis ball is used. There is a tradition of playing picigin in Split on New Year's Day, regardless of the weather conditions, in spite of the sea temperature rarely exceeding 10 °C. Since 2005, a so called "World Championship in Picigin" has been organized annually.

The biggest sports events held in Split were the 1979 Mediterranean Games, and the 1990 European Athletics Championships. Split was one of the host cities of the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship.

In Split you can see famous athletes, play sports yourselves, achieve world-class results or just play it recreationally. You can try almost any sports; there are various clubs, from rugby clubs to rock climbing. Swimming in the sea is possible on average 6 months a year, and Marjan Hill is an excellent resource for many sports: hiking, running, tennis & badminton, cycling, free climbing, football and cage ball. Split has lately become popular for windsurfing enthusiasts (beaches Žnjan and Kaštelet).

Visit The Hall of Fame - Museum of Sport (Kuća slave splitskog sporta - Muzej sporta) and enjoy!

The West Coast is a place where you can find out who Split’s athletes are that have won Olympic medals, thus promoting their city all around the world. Along the promenade, right by the sea, bronze plates with the names, the year of the Olympic games, the city the Olympics were held in, the medal that was won and the image of the sport, are imbedded into the white stone. They are lined up chronologically, starting with the first Olympic medal.

Olympic medal winners from Split.

Split has a sport tradition that only few cities of its size in the world can boast about, with its dozens of Olympic and other medal winners.

London 1948 Olympics

BERNARD VUKAS - Silver - FOOTBALL

FRANE MATOŠIĆ – Silver- FOOTBALL

BOŽO BROKETA – Silver - FOOTBALL

Helsinki 1952 Olympics

BERNARD VUKAS – Silver - FOOTBALL

VLADIMIR BEARA – Silver – FOOTBALL

SLAVKO LUŠTICA – Silver – FOOTBALL

MARKO BRAJNOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

LOVRO RADONIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

BOŠKO VUKSANOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

IVO ŠTAKULA – Silver – WATER POLO

VELJKO BAKAŠUN – Silver – WATER POLO

MARKO BRAJNOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

MATO TROJANOVIĆ – Gold – ROWING

VELIMIR VALENTA – gold– ROWING

DUJE BONAČIĆ – Gold – ROWING

PETAR ŠEGVIĆ – Gold – ROWING

Melbourne 1956 Olympics

ZLATKO PAPEC – Silver – FOOTBALL

NIKŠA RADOVIĆ – Silver – FOOTBALL

JOŠKO VIDOŠEVIĆ – Silver – FOOTBALL

IVICA CIPCI – Silver – WATER POLO

TOMISLAV FRANJKOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

LOVRO RADONIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

BOŠKO VUKSANOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

IVO ŠTAKULA – Silver – WATER POLO

Rome 1960 Olympics

ANDRIJA ANKOVIĆ – Gold – FOOTBALL

ZVONKO BEGO – Gold – FOOTBALL

ALEKSANDAR KOZLINA – Gold – FOOTBALL

ANTE ŽANETIĆ – Gold – FOOTBALL

Tokio 1964 Olympics

IVO TRUMBIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

TONI NARDELLI – Silver – WATER POLO

VINKO ROSIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

Mexico City 1968 Olympics

IVO TRUMBIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

UROŠ MAROVIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

ĐURĐICA BJEDOV – Gold & Silver – SWIMMING

PETAR SKANSI – Silver – BASKETBALL

DAMIR ŠOLMAN – Silver – BASKETBALL

Montreal 1976 Olympics

DAMIR ŠOLMAN – Silver – BASKETBALL

ŽELJKO JERKOV – Silver – BASKETBALL

Moscow 1980 Olympics

ŽELJKO JERKOV – Gold – BASKETBALL

DUJE KRSTULOVIĆ – Gold – BASKETBALL

MILIVOJ BEBIĆ – Silver - WATER POLO

DAMIR POLIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

RATKO RUDIĆ – Silver - WATER POLO

ZLATKO CELENT – Bronze – ROWING

DUŠKO MRDULJAŠ – Bronze - ROWING

JOSIP REIĆ – Bronze – ROWING

Los Angeles 1984 Olympics

MILIVOJ BEBIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

DENI LUŠIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

STJEPAN DEVERIĆ – Bronze – FOOTBALL

BRANKO MILJUŠ – Bronze – FOOTBALL

IVAN PUDAR – Bronze – FOOTBALL

IVAN SUNARA – Bronze – BASKETBALL

Seoul 1988 Olympics

DENI LUŠIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

MISLAV BEZMALINOVIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

RENCO POSINKOVIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

TONI KUKOČ – Silver – BASKETBALL

DINO RAĐA – Silver – BASKETBALL

ŽANA LELAS – Silver – BASKETBALL

Barcelona 1992 Olympics

TONI KUKOČ – Silver – BASKETBALL

DINO RAĐA – Silver – BASKETBALL

ARAMIS NAGLIĆ – Silver – BASKETBALL

VELIMIR PERASOVIĆ – Silver – BASKETBALL

ŽAN TABAK – Silver – BASKETBALL

GORAN IVANIŠEVIĆ – Bronze x 2 – TENNIS

Atlanta 1996 Olympics

JOŠKO KREKOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

ZDESLAV VRDOLJAK – Silver – WATER POLO

SINIŠA ŠKOLNENKOVIĆ – Silver – WATER POLO

TINO VEGAR – Silver – WATER POLO

Sydney 2000 Olympics

NIKOLAJ PEŠALOV – Gold – WEIGHTLIFTING

IGOR BORASKA –bronze – ROWING

TIHOMIR FRANKOVIĆ – Bronze – ROWING

SINIŠA SKELIN – Bronze – ROWING

NIKŠA SKELIN – Bronze – ROWING

TOMISLAV SMOLJANOVIĆ – Bronze – ROWING

Athens 2004 Olympics

NIKOLAJ PEŠALOV – Bronze – WEIGHTLIFTING

SINIŠA SKELIN – Silver – ROWING

NIKŠA SKELIN – Silver – ROWING

IVANO BALIĆ – Gold – HANDBALL

PETAR METLIČIĆ – Gold – HANDBALL

DRAGO VUKOVIĆ – Gold – HANDBALL

DUJE DRAGANJA – Silver – SWIMMING

MARIO ANČIĆ – Bronze – TENNIS

Peking 2008 Olympics

BLANKA VLAŠIĆ - Silver - ATHLETICS

London 2012 Olympics

IVANO BALIĆ – Bronze – HANDBALL

PETAR METLIČIĆ – Bronze – HANDBALL

DRAGO VUKOVIĆ – Bronze – HANDBALL

JAKOV GOJUN – Bronze – HANDBALL

LUCIJA ZANINOVIĆ – Bronze – TAEKWONDO

JOSIP PAVIĆ – Gold – WATER POLO

PETAR MUSLIM – Gold – WATER POLO

IVAN BULJUBAŠIĆ - Gold - WATER POLO

Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics

BLANKA VLAŠIĆ - Bronze - ATHLETICS

TONČI STIPANOVIĆ - Silver - SAILING

JOSIP PAVIĆ - Silver - WATER POLO

ANĐELO ŠETKA - Silver WATER POLO

Tokio 2020 (2021) Olympics

MATE PAVIĆ - Gold - TENNIS

MATEA JELIĆ - Gold - TAEKWONDO

TONI KANAET - Bronze - TAEKWONDO

TONČI STIPANOVIĆ - Silver - SAILING