In 1977 at the age of ten Mislav Bezmalinović began playing water polo for VK Jadran in Split. By 1982 Bezmalinović had made it into the first team, playing with the side until 1994. During this time the Croatian was the face of the sport and regularly appeared on the cover of magazines. His talent with the team soon earned him a call-up to the national side, with him representing Yugoslavia from 1988 to 1991 and Croatia from 1991 to 1994. In 1988 he was part of the team that won gold at the Seoul Olympics, playing in all seven matches and scoring four goals. He bookended his Olympic appearance with silvers at the European Championships in 1987 and 1989. Bezmalinović had triple success in 1991, winning gold at the World Championships, the national title at the Croatian championship, and silver at the Mediterranean Games. He finished his playing career with a brief stint with the Italian club Pescara before playing his last matches with VK Salona in Croatia in 1995.
Yugoslavia
Croatia