Ratko rudic biography
- Ratko Rudić (born 7 June 1948) is a retired Croatian water polo coach and a former water polo player.
- Ratko Rudić is a retired Croatian water polo coach and a former water polo player.
- Ratko Rudić.
- •
Ratko Rudić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ratko Rudić | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rudić in 2012 | |||
| Born | 7 June 1948 (1948-06-07) (age 76) Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia | ||
| Nationality | Croatia / Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||
| Years | Team | ||
1968–1980 | Yugoslavia | ||
| Last updated: 7 May 2020 | |||
Ratko Rudić (born 7 June 1948 in Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian water polo coach and a former water polo player. As of 2015[update], he has won 38 medals as a coach at major events, making him the most successful water polo coach in history, and second most successful team sport coach of all time. He won four gold medals, of which three consecutive, with three different national teams at the Summer Olympics, as well as three gold medals with three national teams at the World Championships, among many others. In 2007 was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, described as "one of the best, if not the best, water polo coach to walk the deck of the pool".
In 1989 received AVNOJ award, the highest Yugoslav award.
- •
Swimming World Presents “Lessons with the Legends: Water Polo Coach Ratko Rudic”
By Michael J. Stott
Ratko Rudic was born in Yugoslavia in 1948. At age 15, he began a distinguished playing career in which he made 297 international appearances with his country’s national team, winning medals at the World Championships, European Championships, Mediterranean Games and the Olympics. Only then did he embark on a vocational path that has earned him near unanimous support as being the globe’s best water polo coach—ever!
Rudic has coached five national teams: Yugoslavia (1984-88), Italy (1990-2000), USA (2001-04), Croatia (2005-12) and Brazil (2013-16). During those tenures, he mentored Yugoslavia to Olympic gold in 1984 and 1988; Italy in 1992 (plus bronze in 1996); and Croatia in 2012. In total, his teams have won a staggering 40 medals on the international stage.
In 2007, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Currently, at age 71, he directs top-ranked Italian water polo club, Pro Recco.
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Bruce Wigo
(executive direc
- •
THE RATKO RUDIC PARADOX
I had the opportunity of working with Coach Rudic as an assistant coach during his first year as the USA National Team Coach from the Fall of 2000 through the summer of 2001, culminating with the FINA World Cup in Fukuoka, Japan in August, 2001. Just in the way of background on Coach Rudic, United States Water Polo hired him to get the men’s team back on the winning track and back into contention for the elusive Olympic gold medal. After winning silver medals in Los Angeles (1984 boycotted Olympics) and 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, the USA slipped to 4th in 1992, 6th in 1996 and 6th in 2000. The USA felt it needed someone like Rudic, who had already won three gold medals with two different countries, Serbia (one as a player) and Italy, to come in and get the men back on the right track.
There is no question that Ratko Rudic is the most successful water polo coach in the history of the sport. Producing Olympic gold medals for three different countries (Serbia, Italy and Croatia) is a feat that has not been achieved by any other water polo coach. At th
Copyright ©yambump.pages.dev 2025