Ratko Rudić is a Croatian water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 coach and a former water polo player. , he has won 34 medals as a coach at major events, making him the most successful water polo coach ever.

Playing career

Rudić played for the Yugoslav water polo team. At the 1968 Olympics he was injured before the tournament and was able to play with his team which went on to win the gold medal. At the World Cup in 1975, he was falsely accused of doping, and so the entire Yugoslav national team was disqualified. Only after a subsequent investigation proved that Rudic did not take any banned substances, he and his team were exonerated. At the Olympic Games in 1980, he won the silver medal.

Coaching career

As a coach, he was coaching four different national teams: Yugoslavia (1984-1988), Italy (1990-2000), USA (2000-2004) and Croatia (since 2004). With three of these teams he became world champion.

External links

• profile
• entry in International Swimming Hall of Fame
  International Swimming Hall of Fame
  The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...