The Rowing Club Neptun (Veslacki klub Neptun) in Dubrovnik was founded in 1923.
In the school year 1890/1891 the Dubrovnik Grammar School introduced rowing as an optional subject within the gymnastics programme and a ten-oar boat was used for pupils. Since 2000 the International Semper Primus Regatta of Student Eights’(the name is derived from a Latin proverb: Semper primus, simper melior – Always the first, always the best). Source Welcome to Dubrovnik, 2009, no 18, p 27.

Croatian eight-man boat (on the above photo) won the olympic gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. It was the first olympic gold medal in the history of the then state (ex-Yugoslavia). However, the press never reported about this great succes, since all the rowers asked for political asylum after the win and moved to Canada. Members of the team were from the rowing club Gusar from the city of Split. Many thanks to Dr. Ante Chuvalo, Chicago, for this information.

Croatian eight-man boat won the olympic bronze in Sydney in 2000, being only half a boat after the winning GB. This is one of greatest results in the history of Croatian sport in general. The crew, composed of Igor Francetic, Tihomir Frankovic, Tomislav Smoljanovic, Niksa Skelin, Sinisa Skelin, Kresimir Culjak, Igor Boraska, Branimir Ujevic (+ Silvio Petrusko), trained for only four months!

Brothers Skelin (Sinisa and Niksa) won gold medal at the World cup in 2002.

Tomislav Hohnjec won the gold medal of the Wild Water World Championship on the Loishach river in the German Alps in 2004. This was Croatia’s first ever gold medal in a C1 wild water championship. In men’s C1 team event in Garmish Partenkirchen, 2004, Croatia also won the gold medal, winning over France (silver), Germany (bronze), Czechia and the USA.

In 2010 Valent Sinković, Damir Martin, Martin Sinković i David Šain became world champions in Men’s Quadruple Sculls competition in New Zealand.

Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images AsiaPac

David Sain, Martin Sinkovic, Damir Martin and Valent Sinkovic of Croatia celebrate winning gold in the Men’s Quadruple Sculls Final during day six of the World Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro on November 5, 2010 in Cambridge, New Zealand.

Sinkovic brothers win gold medals for Croatia in Double Sculls at 2016 Olympics in Rio

Damir Martin Croatian rower winning silver medal of golden glitter at 2016 Olympic Games in men’s single sculls
Damir Martin Croatian rower exhibits outstanding strength and endurance

Valent and Martin Sinkovic winning gold medals at European Rowing Championship in Glasgow 2018

Rowing competition in the town of Zlarin on the island of Zlarin arround 1900, near the city of Šibenik on Croatian coast.
Zlarin is also known for coral hunting and production of fantastic coral jewelry.
The nearby island of Krapanj is famous for coral and sponge hunting.

Matija Ljubek has won a fair number of olympic medals in kayak. He is considered to be one of the greatest kayakers in the history of this sport.

Matija Ljubek (1953-2000), gold medal in single kneeling canoe, 1000 m, at the Olympic Games in Montreal 1976, gold medal in kayak, 1000 m, at the World Championship in Belgrade 1978, gold medal in single kneeling canoe at the World Championship in Nothingham 1981, gold medal in double kneeling canoe the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1984, silver on 500 m, and gold medal on 10,000 m at the World Championship in Belgium (in Mechelen) 1985. Since 2001 the Award of the Croatian Olympic Committee for lifelong achievement is named after him.

Milan Janic won gold medal in single kneeling canoe at the World Championship in Belgrade 1978, and silver medal on 1000 m. Ivan Sabjan, a younger colleague of Matija Ljubek, was the world champion in C-1 on 10,000 m in Duisburg 1987, Germany.