Former player and coach of Mladost Zlatko Šimenc (1938 – 2026), legendary water polo player and doctor of kinesiology, passed away.
He entered 101 performances for the Yugoslavian water polo national team, and he was also a member of the national handball team, for which he played 25 games.
Šimenc was one of the most prominent players in the history of Croatian and Yugoslav water polo and an important part of the golden generation that marked one of the most successful periods of our sport. Throughout his life and throughout his career, he remained loyal to HAVK Mladost, as an inseparable part of the legendary Žabac team that dominated Europe in the late sixties and early seventies with as many as four Old Continent championship titles. As a member of Mladost, he left a deep mark on the club, and with his games, dedication and sportsmanship, he was a role model for the generations that came after him. We send our sincere condolences to his family, friends and all who knew himannounced from HAVK Mladost.
He was a member of the water polo team that She won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964and won two silvers at the World Championships in 1958 and 1962 and a bronze in 1966. He played at the handball WC in 1958 and 1961. As a water polo player of Mladost Zagreb, he was European champion four times as a player, and as a coach he won the Cup of Cups and the first edition of the Super Cup.
He was the coach of AVK Mladost (1972–75), and from 1969 to 1971, the coach of the water polo team of Yugoslavia.
After a successful sports career, Šimenc worked at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, where he taught water polo and handball.
He received the “Franjo Bučar” annual sports award in 1998, and the “Franjo Bučar” lifetime achievement award in 2001. He is the father of the famous Croatian water polo player Dubravko Šimenc.
(Hina | Photo: HAVK Mladost)
