Paris, August 11, 2024 - The documentary film by Dejan Aćimović, "Ratko Rudić Happened - A True Life Story," which tells the story of a water polo legend with a trophy-filled international coaching career, has won the top prize at a film festival in Paris held during the Olympic Games.
Aćimović's film, co-produced with Croatian Radiotelevision, won the Olympians Choice Award, a prestigious prize at the first OLY House Film Festival. The film was co-financed by the Croatian Olympic Committee, largely thanks to the efforts of its president, Zlatko Mateša, who wholeheartedly supported the project from its inception and the years-long process of gathering materials to its world premiere in Zagreb.
The competition at the Paris "Olympic" festival was exceptionally strong. A total of 25 films from around the world were in the running at the festival organized by the International Olympians Association as part of the Paris Olympic Games.
The 115-minute film about Ratko Rudić traces the journey of the world's most successful water polo coach—from his playing beginnings in Zadar to his outstanding coaching achievements.
A coach whose career spanned 39 years, Rudić won a remarkable 39 medals, including 16 gold, making him the greatest Croatian coach of all time across all sports. Rudić is also the second most successful national team coach in the history of all sports, after Brazilian volleyball coach Bernardo Rocha de Rezende (52 medals).
He won medals while leading five different national teams—Yugoslavia, Italy, the USA, Croatia, and Brazil. He is the only water polo coach to have won four Olympic golds and the only one to have won a medal at four consecutive Olympic Games, including three consecutive golds.
With the former Yugoslavia, he won two Olympic and one World Championship gold medals; with Italy, he became an Olympic, European, and World Champion. He repeated this feat with the Croatian national team. He led the USA to gold at the Pan American Games and Brazil to silver in the same competition.
Today, Ratko Rudić is a member of the Board of Directors and the President of the Expert Council of the Croatian Water Polo Federation.
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