80 swimmers return to Šalata as Medveščak celebrates its origins

Eighty swimmers took to the open-air pool at Zagreb’s Šalata sports center and formed a giant number 80 in the water. The image marked eight decades of Medveščak Swimming Club, founded at the same site in 1946.

The anniversary brought together the club’s youngest swimmers, who are still learning their first strokes, and its top competitors. The photograph was presented as a meeting of Medveščak’s past, present and future, with generations represented in the pool where the club began.

“For Medveščak, these 80 years primarily mean continuity,” club president Marin Bonačić said. He described the anniversary as a source of pride and an obligation to preserve what previous generations built and pass it on to those who follow.

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For Medveščak, these 80 years primarily mean continuity. The club was founded in 1946 at Šalata, and throughout these 80 years it has remained an important part of Croatian swimming. This anniversary is a reason for pride, but also an obligation to preserve what we inherited and pass it on to the next generations.

Thousands of children, Croatian champions, national-team members and Olympians have passed through the club over the past eight decades. Medveščak now brings together about 400 swimmers and swimming-school students.

Tija Batinić, who has been with the club for 13 years, currently trains eight times a week in the pool, alongside three conditioning sessions. She said the club means more than sport, including friendships, growing up together, support and lasting memories. Croatian international and European medalist Luka Cvetko emphasized the importance of helping children stay afloat and feel unafraid in the water, with learning developed through play.

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The most important thing is that children know how to stay afloat and are not afraid of the water. It is most important to develop that through play. Like every sport, swimming is also a game.