Petra Uglešić, a member of Split's taekwondo club Marjan, won the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games held in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026. At this prestigious competition, where Croatia had only one spot in taekwondo, Petra represented her country and club brilliantly.
On her way to gold, Uglešić defeated a series of top opponents, including Emilie Biyogo Bikie, Natalia Victoria Perez Barragan, Italy's Virgina Lampis, and in the final, Russia's Elina Tkhamokova. The final bout ended with a score of 40:9 in Uglešić's favour, with rounds of 21:6 and 19:3, and the fight was stopped early due to the significant point advantage.
Petra Uglešić's overall point ratio across the entire competition was an impressive 111:36. This victory represents the 160th major medal for taekwondo club Marjan, as well as the club's 11th Olympic honour. To date, the club has won four medals at the Summer Olympic Games, four at the Deaflympics, and three at the Youth Olympic Games.
Petra Uglešić has a rich junior and cadet career. In 2025, she won the European junior gold, and in 2026, the world junior bronze. Previously, in 2024, she became the world cadet champion. Uglešić is also a multiple European cadet champion, with titles in 2021, 2023, and 2024, as well as a bronze medalist in 2022.
Alongside Petra, taekwondo club Marjan is also recording successes for its other members, including Maja Srhoj and Klara Uglešić, who achieved excellent results at the recent world and European junior championships. These results confirm the continuity of excellence and the quality of work at the Split club.
