It’s gold for Sandra!
Athletics: During the Olympics four years ago, Sandra Perković was in the hospital fighting for her life after her appendix burst. These Olympics went slightly better for Perković, as she brought home Croatia’s first gold medal, winning the discus and setting a new Croatian record. She did it in dominating fashion as Darya Pischlnikova, who holds the world’s longest throw this year, failed to get anywhere near her best. Sandra’s first throw of 64.58 meters was good enough to put her in third after the first round. She followed that up with a massive throw of 68.11 meters, just 13 centimeters off of her personal best, that put her in the lead with four throws remaining. She didn’t stop there though. On her next throw she smashed her personal best by almost a meter, throwing 69.11m, the second furthest throw in the world in 2012. It also beat her own Croatian record. On her next two throws, she could not improve from that mark, but there was no need. Pishchalnikova, who has thrown over 70 meters this year, threw 67.56m to move into second with one chance left to beat Sandra. Darya’s last throw was very poor, reducing her to tears, and Sandra went into her last throw having already won the gold medal. Sandra was overflowed with emotions as she did a victory lap around the stadium with the Croatian flag. It is Croatia’s first ever gold medal in track and field.
Sandro Sukno pulls the trigger
- Men’s Water Polo: The Barracudas moved to 4-0 as they beat Australia 11-6 in a game in which they were always comfortably in control. It was a great team effort as the ball was passed around well and they took advantage of their power plays. Croatia were slow out of the gates, failing to score in the first six minutes of the game. They managed to score two quick goals to finish the 1st quarter up 2-1. Maro Joković scored his second goal a minute into the second, and Australia quickly responded to keep the game close. Croatian starlet Sandro Sukno got on the board with 2:25 to go in the second period and Miho Bošković converted a penalty to give Croatia a 5-2 lead at halftime. Sukno blasted a penalty into the top corner out of the half giving Croatia a four goal lead but Thomas Whelan scored two to provide a much needed response to keep the Aussies in the game. Obradović and Nikša Dobud scored at the end of the third quarter to put Croatia up 8-4 with 8 minutes to play. Maro Joković completed his hat trick with a power play goal right at the start of the fourth to put Croatia up five and end it as a contest. Croatia’s keeper Josip Pavić came up with 12 saves, versus the Aussie keepers who made five. The win was crucial as it means all Croatia must do is defeat Kazakhstan, who are 0-4, on Monday to finish top of the group and avoid the U.S, Serbia, and Montenegro in the quarterfinals.
“Our form is improving. That’s the most important thing because no matter who comes from the other group it will be a very, very hard quarterfinal” -captain Miho Bosković
Igor Horvat scores one of his five goals
- Men’s Handball: Croatia’s Men’s handball team also moved to 4-0 on Saturday, registering their most impressive victory yet. Croatia put on a clinic against the reigning European champions and world runner ups Denmark. It was a physical and feisty match that Croatia won 32-21 thanks to near perfect performances by almost all the players. Denmark certainly weren’t at their best and had more than their fair share of bad luck but that took nothing away from Croatia’s victory. Top scorers were Domagoj Duvnjak, Igor Vori and Zlatko Horvat, who all tallied five goals. Croatia’s next game will be against Spain and will decide the winner of the group. Winning the group is crucial as it means avoiding the big favorites from Group A and the group winner will play either Tunisia or Argentina.
Pejčić prepares to shoot
- Shooting: Snežjana Pejčić, Beijing bronze medal winner in the 10m air rifle, nearly earned a medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions, finishing sixth in the prelims and moving up to a tie for fourth in the final. She shot 584 out of a possible 600 in the prelims, and 97.9 out of 111 in the final. Her worst shot was an 8.7(with 11 being perfect), and if she had shot a 9.8, she would have medaled. It was a great performance from her after she placed 18th in the air rifle, her favored event.
- Sailing: Tonči Stipanović blew an 11 point cushion in one race, finishing 12th in the tenth race of the Men’s Laser, as his nearest rival finished 2nd. Tonci now sits in fourth, one point out of third going into the medal race. The bronze medal will be decided on Monday between Stipanović and Rasmus Myrgren, with the winner taking third. In the men’s 470, Šime Fantela and Igor Marenić are in tenth halfway through the competition. Tina Mihelić is in 17th in the Laser Radial with one race left. Luka Mratović is in 19th with three races left in the RS-X. Enia Ninčević and Romana Župan are in 11th in the 470 through four races.
Congrats to him…….I have no idea who this guy is. I have never heard anything about him. Can’t really comment other than great result.
Yes it is banned, but not for the reasons you alluded to. I’m glad we agree.
🙂
On another note, Croatia just won their second gold medal. Giovanni Cernograz won it for us. Judging by that name of his, I can’t wait to hear your buzzkillington comments on this one.
😉
Either way, it is banned.
Yes.
It’s a stimulant, that enhances mood and focus. It’s the exact same thing as when hockey players were taking Sudafed before games (which actually caused a bit of a clash between the Olympics committee and the NHL back in Nagano since like 20% of NHLers use it).
To answer to your question…it being a stimulant is the only reason why methylhexaneamine is banned.
It is not banned due to any masking capabilities which you keep alluding to in your posts.
there is a reason what was in her system was banned, no?????
Ziva, man, just stop.
Not sure what your agenda is, but you’re sounding worse than an UDBA agent.
Methylhexanamine is not a masking agent. Any anti-doping agency will tell you that. I’m not sure why you keep throwing out the “masking agent” term in some desperate attempt to paint the picture that Sandra is using it to mask something.
Huge news for Mandzukic. Gomez to undergo surgery for Bayern.
http://www.fcbayern.telekom.de/en/news/news/2012/36237.php#xtor=cs1-5%5Bgomez%5D-%5BKW31e%5D
@Joshua……..I’m never a dick. I’m Ziva Istina. By the way, would you date her?????
Agreed on the HGH and steroids, but other substances are used as masking agents or used as part of a greater cocktail mixer. Yes, she is a gold medalist and I encourage you and many others to celebrate that fact if you so desire. Nobody is taking that away from her (at least not yet), but part of the narrative is that she was suspended for using illegal substances.
Petric looked in form during that highlight video. 2 assists and a spectacular goal.
@Ziva:
You don’t have to be a dick all the time.
HGH and Steroids are in a different category than all the other doping agents. She looks like a woman and should be proud of her performance.
@LikaLika…..please explain.
@Shinobi……no arguments from me. I think plenty of these athletes are on something, but until they are caught all we can do is speculate. No need to speculate with Perkovic; she is a doper. I enjoyed seeing the coverage of her last night on NBC and the cro flag with her when she (are we sure she is a “she”) won, but she was caught using illegal stuff. You may think its nothing, but there is a reason its banned.
Regarding the female hoops team…..it was a miracle that got that far. Job well done. Now they can go back home and make sure their husbands, brothers and fathers are being fed.
The women just lost in basketball to Turkey 70-65, laying another egg in the 4th quarter (led 24-18 after the 1st quarter). Overall, they were competitive in all of the games, but got hammered in the end in every loss.
@Mark
Thanks for providing link to the gold medal ceremony. For those who haven’t yet seen it, here’s the link to the actual event:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track-and-field/highlights-sandra-perkovic-wins-womens-discus-gold.html
Any one know how much womens basketball needs to win by to advance?
Svaka cast sandra!
Gold for croatia, you did croatia and hrvati across the world proud.
@ziva
Come on man, can’t you just enjoy the golden moment for croatia?
I agree with you that doping should have no place in sports. But energy drink additives are not the worst thing out there.
Most of the olympic athletes use some sort of enhancers, its just some are better at hiding it.
I have no doubt that 16 year old female chinese swimmer is a big doper. The chinese seem to get away with it.
Theres also something very fishy going on with all the jamaican sprinters. They mask it pretty good also.
Marion jones would have got away with it too, if not for a blabber mouth.
Ziva,
Stop being a communist
@ Anonymous
I agree! I know that Murray is Scottish, but he came from such a small *unknown to us* town, which makes it all the more remarkable. Bravo to him! Federer, on the other hand, was very fishy in his playing style. Age is not the primary reason Fed lost today; if it were, Fed would’ve lost to Murray in the Wimbledon final (or even before, especially considering that the athletes played best 3 of 5 on all matches).
Looking forward for Murray’s first Grand Slam!
Sretan Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti! Sretno svima u slobodnoj nam Hrvatskoj, za koju su ginuli nasi branitelji nadam se da sljedece godine blagdan cemo slaviit sa nasim herojima, generalima Markacem i Gotovinom. Uzimali su nam mnogi i to jako puno, ipak sjecanje na ovaj dan i nase branitelje ne moze nam nitko i nikada uzeti. Neka nam zivi nasa Hrvatska.
And her name will always be listed as someone suspended for having something illegal in her body. SHE IS A DOPER.
Tottenham Hotspur Transfer News: Incredible Luka Modric Deal Revealed
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1285481-tottenham-hotspur-transfer-news-incredible-luka-modric-deal-revealed
Ziva,
Methylhexaneamine is a stimulant that is used in nutritional supplements in the US. It is not a masking agent. Look it up.
Perkovic’s name will always be associated as Croatia’s first Olympic gold medal winner in track and field. You may not like it, but she just won our first gold medal in these Olympics.
Correct, she was not busted for steroids, but what she was busted for could have been a masking agent to cover up something else.
Once a doper always a doper. Regardless, her name will always be associated with serving a suspension for doping. You guys may not like it, but she was suspended for doping.
@Ivica
Great response.
Yep, she is convicted of drinking some 5 hour energy drinks. Not quite the same thing as doping or steroids. Illegal substance or not the bottom line is it is not in the same category as the aforementioned.
@Mainzfeldski
Andy Murray did a great job and I would just like to point out that he is Scottish. The English can claim him all they want but it does not matter as they would fail each time with their claim. Federer showed his age today as he just did not seem to have have the spring in his legs he used to have. That being said he just won Wimbledon so who knows.
@ IvicA and Ziva
Well said Ivica. I doubt that energy drink had anything to do with her physical ability to throw a damn disc. But, there is a point to note: it is an athletes duty an obligation to know and understand EVERYTHING that enters your body, especially if you’re a regular participant in international sporting events. A no-brainer. I’m sure she learned her lesson.
Ziva, you gotta give her the benefit of the doubt on that one. I say strike 2 and she’s out.
Even though it’s not concerned with Croatian athletes for the most part, Murray upset Federer in 3 sets for the Gold Olympic Tennis match. It’s great to see a GB tennis athlete win the Golden Slam, especially since they haven’t been able to win anything major in about 50 years.
Federer seemed very fishy to me, like he didn’t try as much as he did in the previous Wimbledon Championships or against Del Potro last round.
Though I’m a Fed fan, I’m very happy for Murray. Defeats Djokovic in two sets, and despite a disappointing battle, Murray reached a very deserved result. Congrats!
@ Ziva
She tested positive for methylhexanamine. This ingredient is commonly used in energy drinks that many regular people drink on a daily basis. Although it’s technically been labelled as a performance enhancer, it’s not what most people think when you use the term “doping”. Methylhexanamine is a stimulant, whose main benefits are improving mental focus and mood.
I don’t like seeing the articles of her win mentioning that she was banned for “doping” yet never make mention of the actual substance she was banned for.
The first thing that pops into most people’s heads when I hear the term “doping” are the words “illegal” and “steroids”. This is not an illegal drug nor is it a steroid (which is something that would definitely give her an advantage and would’ve banned her from the Olympics for sure).
I could understand you having a hard time with her win if it was an actual steroid that helped her physically get where she is today. But this substance, so long as it’s not currently in your system as you’re making the throw, does absolutely nothing for you. If anything, it may have given her a disadvantage if she is so used to taking in energy drinks before every throw and now has to make the throw without the mental boost.
In other words, her 6 foot, 190lb frame is 100% pure Licanka and I don’t think anyone who’s been to Lika would ever dispute this.
I’m all for celebrating every and any medal we win, but I have a hard time with this one. She is a convicted doper and there is no place for dopers in sports.
Redknapp: Levy je obećao pustiti Modrića u Real
http://www.nogometni-magazin.com/newspro/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=EFuuEVyAuFqyzkQsna&tmpl=coranto_eng_news
Nice goal from Petric
http://www.ogcnice.com/actualite/newstv.php?clef=8214
1:37 in.
There’s nothing like hearing “Ljepa Nasa”
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track-and-field/highlights-womens-discus-throw-medal-ceremony.html
Bravo Sandra Licanka!
Ivica, thanks for the correction. Water polo will win against the Kazakhs so don’t have to worry about that, but for handball I think you are right on the tiebreakers but I think it would be goal difference of only the games between us, Spain, and Denmark. That’s what I found when I looked it up on Wikipedia.
Tomorrow might be the first time I actually watch the sailing. We also have an outside chance in wrestling tomorrow
Good articles Zach. A couple of corrections, just to be a jerk.
The Croatian waterpolo team has already clinched first place..so they don’t have to beat the Kazakhs on account that they cannot finish below Spain or Italy on points and they hold the head-to-head records against both.
Also, in handball, the game against Spain won’t decide the winner of the group between them. Spain lost to Denmark (whom Croatia beat) so if Cro loses to Spain, there will be a three-way tie for first that will have to be decided by goal differential (meaning that Denmark is still mathematically in contention for first). But if a Croatia loss does happen, Croatia is pretty much guaranteed to still top the group based on their unreal +36 goal differential. Denmark could still technically top the group, but they’d have to beat Korea by like 40 goals, lol.
I’m pissed off about Tonci dropping to fourth in sailing. That’s going to be a crazy Laser final for the bronze medal. If he pulls it off, we’ll have three medals with a solid chance at three more coming from the men’s and women’s waterpolo and handball events.
Bravo Sandra,
You are a hot sex kitten
Cestitam