The 20th anniversary of the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) was marked at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb on Saturday evening with a ceremony attended by President Ivo Josipovic, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jaques Rogge, and many other eminent guests.
The ceremony was opened by HOO president Zlatko Matesa.
Those in attendance recalled the brightest moments in Croatian sports over the past two decades.
Rogge said the attendance of Croatia's top state leaders was a sign of their strong support for the Olympic movement and sports in general.
The HOO has become an efficient and reliable partner in the international Olympic family, actively participating in the IOC's efforts to attract as many young people to sports as possible. In only 20 years, Croatian athletes have shined on the international scene, Croatia has won 27 medals at Olympic Games which, for a nation of only 4.5 million people, is a remarkable success worthy of admiration. We remember the Croatian basketball and handball players, (skier) Janica Kostelic and (high jumper) Blanka Vlasic, and the many other talented Croatian athletes who are models to the younger generations in Croatia as well as in the world, Rogge said.
He presented Matesa with a special IOC plaque.
The HOO's first president, Antun Vrdoljak, recalled the difficult war times in which the HOO was established.
Also in attendance were European Olympic Committees president Patrick Joseph Hickey and vice president Alexander Kozlovsky, Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco and Romanian Olympic Committee president Octavian Morariu.
