Belgrade 2026: Croatia’s world-renowned fitness coach Dr Pero Kuterovac to lead Water Polo Coaches Clinic

One of the world’s leading experts in high-performance sport, Dr Pero Kuterovac – the long-time Strength and Conditioning Coach of the highly successful Croatian men’s water polo national team – will lead a prestigious Water Polo Coaches Clinic in Belgrade, Serbia, on Tuesday 20 January, during the second week of the European Championships.

The clinic will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, starting at 11:00am, and is a must-attend event for coaches, physical trainers and performance specialists from across Europe and beyond.

The inspiring lecture will also be streamed live via the European Aquatics Academy website, ensuring anyone who is unable to attend in person can access the session in real time.

Recognised internationally for his outstanding achievements, Dr Kuterovac has contributed to numerous successes at the very highest level of sport.

His work helped deliver Olympic water polo gold for Croatia at London 2012, Olympic silver medals at Rio 2016 and Paris 2024, World Championships gold medals in Budapest 2017 and Doha 2024, and a European Championships title in Split 2022.

Across seven different sports, including water polo, swimming, rowing and handball, Dr Kuterovac has played a key role in winning six Olympic, eight World Championships and 10 European Championships medals.

His presentation will focus on how physical preparation has evolved in response to the modern demands of water polo, particularly the new format of the men’s game being played in a shorter 25m pool.

The reduced pool size has led to less overall swimming and significantly more time spent in the vertical position, both with and without the ball.

As a result, the physical demands of the men’s game now place greater emphasis on leg strength, stability, body positioning and explosive power while battling for the ball.

In response to these changes, Dr Kuterovac has developed a proven, medal-winning gym-based training formula designed to help players perform at their best under the new conditions.

His approach focuses on preparing athletes to dominate the vertical aspects of the game, while maintaining performance, resilience and efficiency during high-intensity competition.

With the sport becoming more physically intense, Dr Kuterovac’s insights will be invaluable for anyone working at elite, national or club level.

The Water Polo Coaches Clinic in Belgrade will deliver a practical, evidence-based approach, combining scientific research with real-world experience from elite competition.

Dr Kuterovac will outline how gym-based training can be structured to improve strength, power and endurance for the new 25m format of the game.

Attendees will gain clear guidance on how to design training schedules that meet the increased physical demands of modern water polo, and have the opportunity to learn from one of the sport’s most respected performance experts and apply his insights within their own national or club programmes.

Full details of the Water Polo Coaches Clinic can be found by clicking here.

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