Former Croatian skier Natko Zrnčić Dim (40) became the coach of the Andorran national team, where he should help the best skier there, 29-year-old Joan Verdu in the World Cup, the country’s ski association reported on Friday.
Andorra, country of 84,000 inhabitants in the mountains of the Pyrenees, bordered by Spain and France, gathers the team for next winter.
Zrnčić Dim will replace coach Juan Lago, who coached Verdu in recent seasons. He should stay in Andorra at least until the next Winter Olympics, the federation reported.
Roger Vidosa, director of the alpine skiing department, said he was very pleased with the addition of the former Croatian national team member to the team.
Natko is a good reinforcement because he is a person with a lot of experience in the World Cup, knows the slopes and has skied them, he stated.
Zrnčić Dim he has not been the head coach before in the World Cup, but he worked in that competition with Slovenian skiers. He was the head coach in the European Cup two years ago to Croatian skier Tvrtek Ljutić.
It is my great pleasure that now I will be part of Verdu’s team and his career. He is a great skier, I believe in him and his skiingsaid Zrnčić Dim.
It’s my goal prepare it during the summer and autumn months in order to show its full potential during the winter season and achieve top resultshe added.
Joan Verdu appreciates the arrival of Croats in his team.
Very positive I appreciate his comingbut above all the fact that he is a former competitor, very good in the World Cup, with podiums, with experience in all disciplines. According to the conversations we have had in recent weeks, he is very motivated, he believes very much in the project and in the team, so we will start with him at full strengthhe said.
Zrnčić Dim competed in various disciplines, but he achieved the best results in the combination, a discipline in which he won third place at the World Championship in Val d’Isre in 2009.
He climbed to the podium five times in the World Cup. He represented Croatia four times at the Olympic Games (Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018). His best Olympic result is 10th place in the combined in Sochi.
He carried the Croatian flag at the opening of the Olympic Games in South Korea in 2018, and ended his competitive career in LA in 2019 at the age of 33.
(Hina | Photo: Zeljko Lukunic/PIXSELL)
