Zdravko Kovačić
Croatian water polo player (1925–2015)
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Zdravko "Ćiro" Kovačić (6 July 1925 – 1 April 2015) was a Croatian water polo player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1948 Summer Olympics, in the 1952 Summer Olympics, and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.[1]
| Zdravko Kovačić | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
6 July 1925 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Ćiro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died |
1 April 2015 (aged 89) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Croatian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior clubs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JŠK Victoria, VK Primorje | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1948-1956 |
 Yugoslavia | 87 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kovačič was born in Šibenik in 1925 (at the time Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), but moved to Sušak the next year and therefore considered himself a native of Rijeka.
Kovačić was part of the Yugoslav team which was eliminated in the second round of the 1948 Olympic tournament. He played one match as goalkeeper.
Four years later he won the silver medal with the Yugoslav team in the 1952 tournament. He played all nine matches as goalkeeper.
In 1956 he was a member of the Yugoslav team which won the silver medal in the Olympic competition again. He played all seven matches as goalkeeper. He was given the honour to carry the national flag of Yugoslavia at the opening ceremony of the 1956 Summer Olympics, becoming the ninth water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.[2]
He died in Rijeka.
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