On Sunday, 14 June, the beautiful setting of Peruća Lake in Vrlika hosted another top-level rowing event organised by the Dalmatian Rowing Association.
Dalmatian Rowing Association Regatta · Peruča Lake, Vrlika
The regatta took place in perfect weather conditions and on calm water, allowing the rowers to show their full potential and deliver memorable races.
Peruča once again proved to be one of the best and most attractive natural rowing courses in this part of Europe, with ideal conditions bringing out the best from all crews.
VK Neretvanski Gusar with the full squad on Peruča
At this regatta, our club competed with its full squad. The whole club team travelled to Vrlika, including members of the rowing school. Our young hopes and more experienced competitors were guided through the races by coaches Antonio Crnčević and Matko Delija, with strong support from club president Mato Glavinić on site.
All our rowers once again proudly represented the club colours, showed outstanding fighting spirit and left their hearts on the course in strong competition among Dalmatian clubs.
VK Neretvanski Gusar results in Vrlika:
- 🥈 Toni Jeramaz – junior cadet single sculls, 1x KMA — 2nd place and silver medal
- 🥉 Marin Obradović – junior B single sculls, 1x JMB — 3rd place and bronze medal
- 🥉 Nikola Dragobratović – junior B single sculls, 1x JMB — 3rd place and bronze medal
- 🥉 Luka Rajič and Matej Družijanić – junior B double sculls, 2x JMB — 3rd place and bronze medal
- 🥉 Ivan Obradović and Toma Mijić – younger cadet double sculls, 2014 generation, 2x KMB — 3rd place and bronze medal
- 🚣 Luka Antonio Klobučić – junior B single sculls, 1x JMB — 4th place
- 🚣 Dominik Deak – junior cadet single sculls, 1x KMA — 4th place
- 🚣 Marko Vukadinović and Zvonimir Mateo Zloić – junior cadet double sculls, 2x KMA — 4th place
- 🚣 Gabrijela Marević – junior B women's single sculls, 1x JŽB — 5th place
- 🚣 Iva Dominiković and Iva Šiljeg – junior B women's double sculls, 2x JŽB — 6th place
- 🚣 Ana Šiljeg – junior A women's single sculls, 1x JŽA — 6th place
Congratulations to Toni on his silver medal, to Marin, Nikola, Luka, Matej, Ivan and Toma on their bronze medals, to Luka Antonio, Dominik, Marko and Zvonimir Mateo for coming close to the podium, and to Gabrijela, Ana, Iva and Iva for their great effort and determination.
Every race like this, especially the performances of our youngest rowers from the rowing school, brings new and valuable experience that forms the foundation for the continued progress of the whole team.
Gusari active on the international stage: fantastic results on Lake Bled
It is worth highlighting that this was an exceptionally dynamic and rich weekend for our club. While the large club team was collecting medals and experience on home ground in Vrlika, part of our squad successfully defended the club colours on the international stage.
Our rowers Roko Mijić and Nika Cetina spent the same weekend racing in demanding and highly competitive events at the prestigious International Regatta on Lake Bled in Slovenia, where they achieved excellent results against strong international opposition. During this demanding trip, they were supported and guided by coaches Slobodan Medak and Ivan Rebić and club secretary Davor Gnječ.
🇭🇷 Nika on the rise, Roko making history — first medal in the Croatian jersey
On Friday afternoon, in a field of 28 junior women divided into 6 qualification groups, Nika finished an excellent 2nd in her group. Based on the overall fastest times, she secured a place in the B Final, where she finished 6th on Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon brought new qualifications, and Nika rowed her best 2,000-metre race of the season. With a fantastic time of 8:23.93, she qualified directly for the A Final, where she finished an excellent 4th overall, her best result of the current racing season.
Roko Mijić also had a brilliant weekend on Lake Bled, competing in the junior men's double sculls with his quadruple sculls teammate Karlo Svirčić from VK Krka Šibenik. Their performances carried special weight as important checks in preparation for the upcoming World Championships.
On the first day of the regatta, they competed as a club crew and took an excellent 2nd place, finishing just behind their quadruple sculls teammates Šime Ravnjak from VK Korana Karlovac and Petar Hrkač from VK Jarun Zagreb.
On the second day, Roko and Karlo proudly raced in the Croatian national rowing team jersey. In an extremely close and high-quality race, they won an excellent 3rd place, finishing behind the Slovenian national crew, bronze medallists at the recent European Championships, and once again behind their national-team teammates from the quadruple sculls.
Huge congratulations to Nika and Roko on these outstanding international results, which confirm the high level of work in our club, and to all our rowers who shone in Vrlika.
Upcoming challenges: from Crikvenica and Metković to the World Championships
The coming period brings new major sporting challenges, with no time to rest. Nika and Roko are currently in Zagreb for preparations, sharpening their form for the competitions ahead.
Already next weekend, they are expected to compete at the Croatian Coastal Beach Sprint Championship in Crikvenica. After that, the whole club turns toward home waters. On 11 July, Metković will host a large and exciting eights regatta in front of our home crowd.
A particularly important period lies ahead for our Roko Mijić. After his club commitments, Roko will enter two rounds of national-team preparations as a key part of selection and crew preparation for the biggest world stage.
Roko will represent Croatia at the World Rowing U19 Championships, which will be held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from 6 to 9 August.
We now turn to all the challenges ahead, proud of what has been achieved on every front, and we continue working hard on our Neretva! 💪
See the rich photo gallery of our crews from Peruća Lake and Lake Bled below.
