Matija Marinić (born 24 December 1990) is a Croatian slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2006.[5] Matija competed in the C1 event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing 11th.[6] He is from Zagreb and is coached by 1992 Olympian Stjepan Perestegi.[4]
 Marinić at the 2019 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Croatian | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 December 1990[1] Rijeka[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Zagreb | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Croatia | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Canoe slalom | |||||||||||||||||
| Rank | No. 34[3] | |||||||||||||||||
| Event | C1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Kajak Kanu Klub Zagreb[2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Stjepan Perestegi[4] | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||
Personal life edit
Matija married Tea Budimir, a physiotherapist, in 2016 and has a child named Marko.[4][7] He is from Rijeka on the Kvarner Gulf and currently lives in Croatia's capital city, Zagreb.[5] He completes most of his training on the Sava River in his home town but spends a significant proportion of his time at the Tacen Whitewater Course in nearby Ljubljana,[8] making it somewhat of a home course for him and other Croatian slalom canoeists.[9]
Career edit
Junior edit
Matija began paddling in 1997 with Kajak Kanu Klub Zagreb after transitioning from water polo.[2][4] He made his international debut in 2006 aged 15, competing at the Junior European Championships and Junior World Championships in Nottingham and Solkan, respectively. He finished 27th at both events.[10][11]
In 2008 Matija made the finals at both junior international events, finishing 10th at the Europeans (after incurring a 50-second penalty) and 6th at the Worlds.[12][13] During this time he also competed at the U23 level, finishing 8th in C1 team at the Europeans in 2007 and 2008.[14] Matija competed in several World Cups as a Junior and achieved a 15th place at the 2008 event on his "home" course in Tacen.[15]
U23 edit
Marinić began competing at the U23 level in 2010, finishing 9th at the U23 European Championships in Markkleeberg.[16] In the same year he competed at the senior World Championships in Tacen and finished in 13th place, aged 19.[17] He competed in the inaugural edition of the ICF World U23 Canoe Slalom Championships in 2012 in Wausau, Wisconsin and finished in 29th place.[18] He competed in the same event again in 2013 in Liptovský Mikuláš, improving to 18th place.[19]
In 2011 Matija won a silver medal in C1 at the U23 European Championships in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and bettered this achievement two years later by becoming the 2013 U23 European Champion in Bourg-Saint-Maurice.[14] Matija also won a bronze medal at the 2013 Canoe Slalom World Cup in Tacen.
Senior edit
Marinić finished in 42nd place at the 2015 World Championships in Lee Valley which doubled as a qualification event for the 2016 Summer Olympics, missing out on automatic qualification. His only other chance to qualify was at the 2016 European Championships in Liptovský Mikuláš. Matija finished in 11th place at this event, just short of the top ten and the opportunity to race Ander Elosegi for the European quota.[20]
At the 2019 World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell, Matija finished in 12th place, automatically qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as the 10th ranked NOC.[21] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only two major competitions Matija competed in between the 2019 Worlds and the Olympic Games were the 2020 and 2021 European Championships, where he finished in 16th and 14th place, respectively.[14]
Matija has dealt with knee issues since he was 18, due to the awkward sitting position required for C1. Following the announcement of the postponement of the 2020 Games, he underwent knee surgery so as to not be held back by his injury and to be "faster and better" at the delayed 2021 Games.[7] Marinić spent the winter leading into the Olympics training at Wadi Adventure in the United Arab Emirates with fellow Croatian Ren Korpes.[22] In the lead-up to the postponed Games he won an ICF World Ranking race in April in Tacen,[9] and made the final of the 2021 Canoe Slalom World Cup in Prague, where he finished in third place but was disqualified for a delayed start.[23]
On 13 July 2021, 8 days after arriving in Tokyo to prepare for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Matija and coach Stjepan were sent into self-isolation by the Olympic organisers due to there being an infected passenger on their flight.[24] They were initially required to self-isolate for a week but were allowed to return to training on the 15 July, two days later, following an appeal by the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee Zlatko Mateša.[25] Mateša publicly criticized the handling of the issue, calling it a "glaring example of the inability of the organizers to deal with the problems associated with the pandemic".[26]
Matija finished in 11th place in the C1 event at the 2020 Games, after being eliminated in the semi-final.[6]
Results edit
World Cup individual podiums edit
| Season | Date | Venue | Position | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17 August 2013 | Tacen | 3rd | C1 |
Complete World Cup results edit
| Year | WC1 | WC2 | WC3 | WC4 | WC5 | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Prague  |
Tacen  30 |
Augsburg  32 |
Continent |
24 | 46th | |
| 2008 | Continent |
Prague 27 |
Tacen 15 |
Augsburg |
44 | 39th | |
| 2009 | Continent |
Pau  32 |
Bratislava  |
Augsburg |
2 | 65th | |
| 2010 | Continent  17 |
Prague 20 |
La Seu  |
Augsburg 27 |
60 | 26th | |
| 2011 | Tacen 7 |
L'Argentière |
Markkleeberg |
Prague 34 |
42 | 35th | |
| 2012 | Cardiff  |
Pau |
La Seu |
Prague 32 |
Bratislava |
2 | 69th |
| 2013 | Cardiff |
Augsburg 13 |
La Seu |
Tacen 3 |
Bratislava |
80 | 22nd |
| 2014 | Lee Valley 24 |
Tacen 11 |
Prague 20 |
La Seu 25 |
Augsburg 34 |
91 | 24th |
| 2015 | Prague 33 |
Kraków  14 |
Liptovský Mikuláš 24 |
La Seu 15 |
Pau 31 |
78 | 27th |
| 2016 | Ivrea  25 |
La Seu 22 |
Pau 25 |
Prague |
Tacen 16 |
105 | 21st |
| 2017 | Prague 23 |
Augsburg 34 |
Markkleeberg |
Ivrea |
La Seu 32 |
23 | 44th |
| 2018 | Liptovský Mikuláš 15 |
Kraków 26 |
Augsburg 27 |
Tacen 16 |
La Seu 26 |
105 | 22nd |
| 2019 | Lee Valley 51 |
Bratislava |
Tacen 7 |
Markkleeberg |
Prague 23 |
80 | 28th |
| 2020 | Tacen 4 |
Pau 13 |
N/A[a] | ||||
| 2021 | Prague 10[b] |
Markkleeberg 14 |
La Seu |
Pau 13 |
123 | 14th | |
Notes
a No overall rankings were determined by the ICF, with only two races possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
b Marinić finished 3rd but was disqualified from the final, being classified 10th.
Complete Championship Results edit
| Year | Level | Venue | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Junior World | Solkan |
C1 | 27th |
| Junior European | Nottingham |
C1 | 27th | |
| 2007 | U23 European | Kraków |
C1 team | 8th |
| Junior European | C1 | 18th | ||
| 2008 | European | Kraków |
C1 team | 8th |
| C1 | 25th | |||
| U23 European | Solkan |
C1 team | 8th | |
| Junior European | C1 | 10th | ||
| Junior World | Roudnice |
C1 | 6th | |
| 2010 | U23 European | Markkleeberg |
C1 | 9th |
| European | Bratislava |
C1 | 27th | |
| World | Tacen |
C1 | 13th | |
| 2011 | European | La Seu d'Urgell |
C1 | 20th |
| U23 European |  Banja Luka |
C1 team | 9th | |
| C1 | 2nd | |||
| World | Bratislava |
C1 | 29th | |
| 2012 | European | Augsburg |
C1 | 31st |
| U23 World |  Wausau |
C1 | 29th | |
| U23 European | Solkan |
C1 | 22nd | |
| 2013 | European | Kraków |
C1 | 15th |
| U23 World | Liptovský Mikuláš |
C1 | 18th | |
| U23 European | Bourg-Saint-Maurice |
C1 | 1st | |
| World | Prague |
C1 | 22nd | |
| 2014 | European |  Vienna |
C1 | 17th |
| World | Deep Creek |
C1 | 27th |
| Year | Level | Venue | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | European | Markkleeberg |
C1 | 19th |
| World |  Lee Valley |
C1 | 42nd | |
| 2016 | European | Liptovský Mikuláš |
C1 | 11th |
| 2017 | European | Tacen |
C1 | 30th |
| World | Pau |
C1 | 42nd | |
| 2018 | European | Prague |
C1 | 30th |
| World |  Rio de Janeiro |
C1 | 15th | |
| 2019 | European | Pau |
C1 | 29th |
| World | La Seu d'Urgell |
C1 | 11th | |
| 2020 | European | Prague |
C1 | 16th |
| 2021 | European | Ivrea |
C1 | 14th |
| Olympic |  Tokyo |
C1 | 11th | |
| World | Bratislava |
C1 | 17th |
References edit
- ^ "Canoë-kayak - Matija Marinic". les-sports.info (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Matija Marinić". kkkzagreb.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "ICF Canoe Slalom World Rankings". Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d "MARINIC Matija". olympics.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Matija MARINIC (CRO)". ICF - Planet Canoe. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Official results (Tokyo)" (PDF). Olympics (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b Ptičar, Lucija (April 4, 2021). "SOSTVARIO JE SVOJ SAN! Kanuist Matija Marinić za nekoliko mjeseci zaveslat će na Olimpijskim igrama u Tokiju [HE REALIZED HIS DREAM! Canoeist Matija Marinić will row at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in a few months]". zagreb.info (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ Petrinović, Kruno (October 26, 2020). "SPORT I EKOLOGIJA IDU 'RUKU POD RUKU', DOKAZ JE NAŠ PROSLAVLJENI KANUIST KOJEMU JE TO ŽIVOTNI MOTO [Sport and ecology go 'hand in hand', as evidenced by our celebrated canoeist for whom this is the motto of life]". Gloria.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Kanuist Matija Marinić pobjednik međunarodne utrke u Sloveniji [Canoeist Matija Marinić is the winner of the international race in Slovenia]". Croatian Olympic Committee (in Croatian). April 18, 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Nottingham 2006)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Solkan 2006)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Solkan 2008)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Roudnice 2008)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Matija MARINIC (CRO)". CanoeSlalom.net. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Tacen WC 2008)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Markkleeberg 2010)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Tacen 2010)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Wausau 2012)". Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Official results (Liptovsky 2013)". Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Men's C1 Final Results (Liptovsky 2016)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ Kralj, Igor (October 4, 2019). "Matija Marinić izborio Olimpijske igre [Matija Marinić won the Olympic Games (quota)]". Sportska Hrvatska (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Kanuisti Matija Marinić i Ren Korpes pripremaju se za Olimpijske igre u Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima[Canoeists Matija Marinić and Ren Korpes are preparing for the Olympic Games in the United Arab Emirates]". nacional.hr (in Croatian). February 16, 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "C1M official result list – World Cup Race 1" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ Hina (July 13, 2021). "PRIJETI MU CRNI SCENARIJ! PRVI HRVAT KOJI JE OTPUTOVAO NA OLIMPIJSKE IGRE ODMAH ZAVRŠIO U SAMOIZOLACIJI [He is threatened with a black scenario! The first Croat to travel to the Olympics immediately ended up in self-isolation]". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ M., M. (July 15, 2021). "Matija Marinić vratio se treninzima u Tokiju [Matija Marinić returned to training in Tokyo]". sport.hrt.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ Rogulj, Daniela (July 14, 2021). "Croatian Olympic Committee President Attacks Tokyo Organizers Over Marinić Isolation". total-croatia-news.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
External links edit
