The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 received Croatian athletes today who achieved historic success and won medals at this year\u2019s European Championships in gymnastics, athletics, and swimming. The meeting was attended by Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships; Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships; and Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 European Championships in men\u2019s and women\u2019s artistic gymnastics for seniors and juniors were held from 13 to 23 August 2026, at Arena Zagreb, marking the first time in history that Zagreb hosted this major gymnastics event. Among the Croatian competitors, Illia Kovtun stood out by winning Croatia\u2019s first-ever gold medal in the all-around, as well as a gold medal on the parallel bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Croatian athlete Marino Bloudek, a native of Virovitica, won the silver medal in the 800-meter event at the 27th<\/sup> European Athletics Championships, held in Birmingham from 10 to 16 August 2026. The European Athletics Championships are held every two years and represent the pinnacle of the athletics season. Bloudek achieved the greatest success of his career, becoming only the third Croatian runner and the fifth Croatian athlete overall to win a medal at the European Athletics Championships. In addition to Bloudek, Croatian javelin thrower Sara Kolak also achieved a major success in Birmingham, winning the gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Swimmer Vlaho Nenadi\u0107 attended the meeting on behalf of the Croatian national swimming team, which won a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, setting a new national record, at the 38th<\/sup> European Aquatics Championships in Paris. One of the world\u2019s oldest and most prestigious international aquatics competitions was held in Paris from 31 July to 16 August 2026. The Croatian men\u2019s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team won the bronze medal, with Jere Hribar, Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, Vili Sivec, and Toni Dragoja making history in Croatian swimming by setting a new national record. This was also Croatia\u2019s first swimming medal at a European Championship in a 50-meter pool in ten years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the athletes, the meeting at the Office of the President of the Republic was attended by their coaches and representatives of the federations of the three core sports: the Croatian Gymnastics Federation, the Croatian Athletics Federation, and the Croatian Swimming Federation. The meeting focused on the conditions in which Croatian athletes train and the importance of continued investment in sports infrastructure to ensure the continuity of such outstanding results at major competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulating the Croatian athletes on their medals, President Milanovi\u0107 said that this was a major success for Croatian sport and told them: \u201cIt is harder to achieve results in the sports you compete in, so your successes are great individual stories.\u201d He also wished them continued success in future competitions. \u201cI believe in your future successes, which we will celebrate just as we celebrate these,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accompanying Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships, were his coach, Iryna Gorbacheva, and the President of the Croatian Gymnastics Federation, Dr. Marijo Mo\u017enik. Accompanying Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships, were his coach, Mladen Kr\u0161ek, the President of the Croatian Athletics Federation, Ivan Ve\u0161ti\u0107, and the Federation\u2019s Sports Director, Mladen Katalini\u0107. Accompanying Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships, was his coach, Frane \u0106irak; Jak\u0161a Aramba\u0161i\u0107, coach of relay bronze medallist Jere Hribar; Goran Ke\u017eman, coach of relay bronze medallist Toni Dragoja; and members of the Executive Board of the Croatian Swimming Federation Davor Brdar, President of the Zagreb Swimming Federation, and David Pavlini\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Milanovi\u0107 was accompanied by Tomislav Pa\u0161kvalin, Commissioner of the President of the Republic for Sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Tomislav Bu\u0161ljeta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 received Croatian athletes today who achieved historic success and won medals at this year\u2019s European Championships in gymnastics, athletics, and swimming. The meeting was attended by Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships; Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships; and Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44662,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-44664","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
![<\/a>\n \n \n](\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082-1024x576.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![<\/a>\n \n \n](\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1106-1024x576.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![<\/a>\n \n \n](\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1151-1024x576.jpg\"\n){kind=link}
![<\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\nPHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Tomislav Bu\u0161ljeta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 received Croatian athletes today who achieved historic success and won medals at this year\u2019s European Championships in gymnastics, athletics, and swimming. The meeting was attended by Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships; Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships; and Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44662,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-44664","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 received Croatian athletes today who achieved historic success and won medals at this year\u2019s European Championships in gymnastics, athletics, and swimming. The meeting was attended by Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships; Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships; and Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-28T14:04:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"5388\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3031\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/\",\"name\":\"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/DSC_1082.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-28T14:04:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-28T14:04:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/DSC_1082.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/DSC_1082.jpg\",\"width\":5388,\"height\":3031},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vijesti\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.predsjednik.hr\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107","og_description":"The President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 received Croatian athletes today who achieved historic success and won medals at this year\u2019s European Championships in gymnastics, athletics, and swimming. The meeting was attended by Illia Kovtun, winner of two gold medals at the Zagreb 2026 European Championships; Marino Bloudek, silver medallist in the 800-meter event at the European Athletics Championships; and Vlaho Nenadi\u0107, a member of the relay team that won a bronze medal at the European Championships.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/","og_site_name":"President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107","article_modified_time":"2026-09-28T14:04:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":5388,"height":3031,"url":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/","url":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/","name":"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-28T14:04:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-28T14:04:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1082.jpg","width":5388,"height":3031},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-european-championship-medallists-in-gymnastics-athletics-and-swimming\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vijesti","item":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives European Championship Medallists in Gymnastics, Athletics, and Swimming"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/","name":"President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-cat?post=44664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC_1161-1024x576.jpg\"\n){kind=link}