Croatia third by number of medals at the European Karate Championships in Frankfurt
The Croatian karate national team finished its appearance at the 61st European Senior Karate and Para-Karate Championships in Frankfurt as the third-ranked national team by the number of medals won. According to data presented after the national team's return to Zagreb and the competition results, Croatian male and female karate athletes won a total of six medals in karate: two golds, one silver and three bronzes. Gold medals were won by Ema Sgardelli in the category up to 50 kilograms and Sadea Bećirović in the category up to 68 kilograms, Mia Greta Zorko won silver in the category up to 61 kilograms, while bronze medals went to Ivan Kvesić up to 84 kilograms, Anđelo Kvesić above 84 kilograms and the women's national team in team kumite.
The result from Frankfurt is one of the most successful appearances by Croatian karate at European championships. The Croatian Olympic Committee stated that a higher number of medals in karate at European championships was achieved only in Bremen in 2003 and Zürich in 2011, when Croatia won seven medals each, while in terms of the brilliance of the medals, the championships held in Croatia, in Zagreb in 2009 and Zadar in 2024, were particularly successful. In Frankfurt, the Croatian national team confirmed the continuity of results in individual categories, but also the importance of the team performance, because the bronze of the women's national team brought additional sporting value ahead of the continuation of the international season.
Two golds as the central result of the Croatian appearance
The most prominent individual achievement in Frankfurt belonged to Ema Sgardelli, who won her third consecutive European champion title in the category up to 50 kilograms. According to the announcement of the European Karate Federation, Sgardelli defeated Bulgarian Teodora Tsaneva 5:1 in the final and thus extended her streak of dominance in her category. The Croatian Olympic Committee announced that the Croatian representative achieved a total points ratio of 26:1 over five bouts in the entire competition, with the only point conceded precisely in the final.
That figure further emphasizes the weight of her result. According to information presented after the championships, Sgardelli is the first Croatian female or male karate athlete since independence to win three consecutive individual European titles, and it was also stated that she is the only one in the history of her category with such a streak at European championships. At the press conference after the national team's return, she emphasized that she was physically and mentally ready in Frankfurt and that experience from previous seasons helped her defend the title.
The second Croatian gold was won by Sadea Bećirović in the category up to 68 kilograms. The European Karate Federation reported that Bećirović defeated Frenchwoman Thalya Sombe 4:1 in the final. For the Croatian representative, this was her first individual medal at senior European championships, and immediately a gold one. According to the announcement of the Croatian Olympic Committee, on her way to the title she also defeated one of the strongest opponents in the category, and in the final she was better than the reigning world champion.
Bećirović had a double role in Frankfurt because, in addition to the individual gold, she also participated in winning the team bronze. At the press conference after the national team's return, she said that the individual medal had been long awaited and that the invested effort had paid off, and she especially singled out the return of the Croatian women's team to the European podium. That team result is also important because of its qualification significance, as medals in team competitions at continental championships are connected with participation at the World Team Championships.
Silver for Mia Greta Zorko and bronzes for the Kvesić brothers
Mia Greta Zorko won the silver medal in the category up to 61 kilograms. According to the report of the European Karate Federation, in the final she lost to Altana Basangova, who competed under the EKF-1 designation, by a score of 6:4. Although the final ended in defeat, Zorko achieved the biggest result of her career at senior European level, and her placement in the final bout was one of the important elements of Croatia's overall success in Frankfurt.
According to reports from the championships, Zorko reached the final after a very notable performance in the qualification section. The European Karate Federation had earlier singled out her victory over Slovak representative Ingrid Bakos Suchankova by a score of 5:3, with which she secured the final. At the conference in Zagreb, the Croatian silver medallist described the medal as a special moment in her career and stressed that she sees the result from Frankfurt as an important point for the continuation of her sporting story.
Bronze medals in the individual men's competition were won by Ivan Kvesić and Anđelo Kvesić, two of the most experienced Croatian representatives. Ivan Kvesić won bronze in the category up to 84 kilograms, while Anđelo Kvesić was bronze medallist in the category above 84 kilograms. According to the competition results, in the category up to 84 kilograms the title was won by Eduard Gasparian, while in the heaviest men's category the gold went to Italian Matteo Avanzini, and the Croatian representatives finished on the podium in competition with a number of European and world medallists.
For the Kvesić brothers, the result in Frankfurt is a continuation of many years of consistency at the biggest competitions. Anđelo Kvesić, a two-time European champion, recalled after the championships that this was his sixth individual medal and that in the last five years he had regularly been in the final stages of European competitions. Ivan Kvesić, world and European champion, expressed satisfaction with a new podium, especially after a demanding final match against the home representative.
Team bronze and placement toward the world stage
The third bronze in karate was won by the Croatian women's national team in team kumite. In the line-up of Sadea Bećirović, Mia Greta Zorko, Ema Sgardelli, Nikolina Golomboš and Sara Tomić, Croatia defeated Austria 2:1 in the bronze medal bout. According to reports after the championships, the final point for the Croatian team was delivered by Sadea Bećirović, thereby rounding off an exceptionally successful individual and team performance.
The team medal has a broader meaning than the podium placement itself. In its championship preview, the European Karate Federation announced that the team competitions in Frankfurt have a qualification role for the upcoming Karate World Cup, that is, the World Cup or world team competition later in the season. The Croatian Olympic Committee also stated that winning the team medal opened the way for the Croatian women's national team to participate at the world team championship in China in November 2026.
That information is especially important for planning the continuation of the season. The Croatian women's team in Frankfurt showed breadth of quality because three members of the squad simultaneously won individual medals as well. Such a distribution of results points to a stable base in women's kumite, but also to strong competition within the national team, which is crucial for team competitions because the result does not depend only on one athlete but on the balance of the entire line-up.
Para-karate further strengthened Croatia's performance
Along with six medals in karate, three medals in para-karate also arrived from Frankfurt. According to the announcement after the championships, Daniela Topić won gold in the K22 category for athletes with intellectual disabilities, while Stipe Barić and Josip Šteko won bronze medals in their categories. The European Karate Federation reported that Topić defeated Slovak Lucija Vlkova in the final of the K22 category by a score of 38.4 to 36.8.
For Daniela Topić, this is another in a series of European titles. The Croatian Olympic Committee stated that in Frankfurt she won her fifth consecutive European gold, thereby further cementing her status as one of the most successful Croatian representatives in para-karate. The successes in para-karate are not included in the total of six karate medals, but they form an important part of the overall picture of Croatia's appearance at the championships in Germany, especially because the competition was held as a unified senior championship in karate and para-karate.
Para-karate has in recent years become an increasingly visible part of major karate competitions, and the results from Frankfurt show that Croatia also has competitors in this segment capable of reaching the podium. In sporting terms, the medals of Topić, Barić and Šteko confirm the continuity of work in categories that require a high level of technical performance, concentration and adaptation to the competition format. In a broader sense, their success contributes to the visibility of parasport and the inclusion of athletes with disabilities and difficulties in the system of major international competitions.
The championship in Frankfurt gathered the European elite
The European Championships in Frankfurt were held from 20 to 24 May 2026. Before the start of the competition, the Croatian Karate Union announced that this was the 61st European Senior Karate and Para-Karate Championships and that 600 karate athletes from 51 countries and 71 para-karate athletes from 20 countries would gather in Germany. Croatian colours were defended by 26 karate athletes and eight para-karate athletes, which placed Croatia among the more numerous national teams at the championships.
According to the preview by the European Karate Federation, Frankfurt was the host of the main European competition of the season, with individual categories, team disciplines and para-karate. The competition was held in Eissporthalle Frankfurt, a sports complex in the east of the city, and the schedule was divided into elimination days and medal decision days. Such a format concentrated the finals and medal bouts into the closing part of the championships, which brought the Croatian national team a very intense final part of the competition.
In the sporting context, the result in Frankfurt is important because it was achieved in a period in which European karate has an extremely broad field of competition. Medals were distributed among a number of national teams, and the finals featured winners of world and European titles, as well as athletes from strong karate systems such as Italy, Turkey, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Azerbaijan and others. In such an environment, third place by number of medals confirms that Croatia remains among the most successful European national teams.
Continuity of results and significance for Croatian karate
The Frankfurt result is a continuation of a successful period for Croatian karate. At the previous European Championships in Yerevan in 2025, Croatia, according to the Croatian Karate Union, won five medals and was fourth on the medal winners' table. A year earlier, at the European Championships in Zadar in 2024, Croatian representatives won several medals of strong brilliance, including three golds, which further raised expectations ahead of the next senior appearances.
In Frankfurt, the result was distributed differently, but was equally valuable because of the breadth of medals. Two golds, one silver and three bronzes in karate show that the national team has top-level individuals in several categories, experienced result bearers in the men's competition and an increasingly strong women's squad in the team section. Sgardelli and Bećirović brought titles, Zorko silver, the Kvesić brothers continuity on the podium, and the women's team a result that has consequences for the continuation of the season.
Third place on the medal table in Frankfurt is therefore not just a statistical figure but an indicator of the depth of the national team. At this championship, Croatia combined the experience of winners of world and European medals with new major breakthroughs in the women's categories. After returning from Germany, it was emphasized that this was one of the most successful continental showcases for the Croatian team, and the continuation of the season, especially the team appearance at world level, will show how important the Frankfurt result can be for the next developmental step.
Sources:
- Večernji list / Hina – report from the conference after the return of the Croatian karate national team and overview of medals at the European Championships in Frankfurt (link)
- Croatian Olympic Committee / Trening.com – overview of Croatian medals, final results and historical context of the appearance in Frankfurt (link)
- European Karate Federation – official report on the finals and medal winners of the fourth day of competition in Frankfurt (link)
- European Karate Federation – preview and official information on the 61st European Senior Championships in Frankfurt, the competition format and the qualification significance of team disciplines (link)
- Croatian Karate Union – official line-up of the Croatian national team and data on the number of registered competitors at the championships in Frankfurt (link)