FIRST EDITION

BETWEEN 2
HEARTBEATS

BEST SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY 2025

GRAND PRIX / PROFESSIONAL JURY

FIRST & COUNTY
& AUDIENCE CHOICE PRIZE

AUTHOR

BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ

Žrnovnica, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Lidija Lijić Vulić

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

World and Croatian freediving record holder.
Vis, 22 June 2011

Lidija Lijić Vulić, world freediving record holder, Vis 2011 award-winning sports photograph

GRAND PRIX / PROFESSIONAL JURY

SECOND
PRIZE

AUTHOR

TOMASZ MARKOWSKI

Krakow, Poland

PHOTO TITLE

Judges Observing the Jump

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Ski Jumping World Cup.
Willingen, 3 February 2024

Ski Jumping World Cup Willingen 2024 judges observing the jump

GRAND PRIX / PROFESSIONAL JURY

THIRD
PRIZE

AUTHOR

MIROSLAV LELAS

Split, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Raise the Sail

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Sailing Club Split organized the 16th Kaštela Bay Cup regatta with 40 crews.
Kaštela, 22 October 2023

Kaštela Bay Cup regatta 2023 sailor adjusting sail during race

GRAND PRIX / HALL OF FAME JURY

FAIR PLAY

AUTHOR

VLADIMIR DUGANDŽIĆ

Split, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Sporting Embrace

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Croatian Wheelchair Tennis Championship 2021.
Anto Joskić and Sven Maretić

Croatian Wheelchair Tennis Championship 2021 sporting embrace after match

GRAND PRIX / CHILDREN'S CHOICE

SMALL
FRAME

AUTHOR

ANTE ČIZMIĆ

Dugi Rat, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Ana Đerek

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Young gymnast from Split.
Split, 13 October 2017

Ana Đerek Croatian gymnast Split 2017

GRAND PRIX / HALL OF FAME JURY

ARCHIVAL
PHOTOGRAPH

AUTHOR

MATKO BILJAK

Sumartin, Brač Island, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Basketball Trophy

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Pop 84 Split team featuring Božidar Maljković, Dino Rađa, Ivanović and Goran Sobin.
Split, 1990

Dino Rađa Pop 84 European champions 1990 archival basketball photograph

GRAND PRIX / NIGHT OF MUSEUMS - AUDIENCE CHOICE

SECOND
PRIZE

AUTHOR

ZVONIMIR BARIŠIN

Kaštel Stari, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Komin, Neretva Boat Marathon

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Komin, the Neretva Boat Marathon passing through Komin with flares.

Neretva Boat Marathon Komin public award photograph

GRAND PRIX / NIGHT OF MUSEUMS - AUDIENCE CHOICE

THIRD
PRIZE

AUTHOR

IGOR KRALJ

Zagreb, Croatia

PHOTO TITLE

Football Dream

PHOTO DESCRIPTION

Khalifa International Stadium, third place match, Croatia - Morocco. Croatia defeated Morocco and won bronze at the FIFA World Cup. Qatar, 17 December 2022.

Croatia bronze FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 public award sports photograph

ABOUT
THE PROJECT

ORGANIZER

Split Sports Hall of Fame

FIRST EDITION OF THE COMPETITION

Between 2 Heartbeats is an international sports photography competition organized by the Split Sports Hall of Fame. Our goal is to establish it as an annual project that promotes sports photography as a space where sporting narrative and emotion are inseparably intertwined.

This year the competition included two main categories: recent sports photography and archival photography, preserving moments of sporting history.
Awarded works and shortlisted entries were presented to the public during NIGHT OF MUSEUMS 2026.

Professional Jury

Award winners were selected by a professional jury consisting of:

  • Ante Verzotti
  • Zdravko Reić
  • Maja Prgomet
  • Ana Žanko
  • Blanka Vlašić

SHORTLIST (44)

Click on a photograph to view it in full size.

Ana Đerek gymnastics Split 2017
Ante Čizmić
Ante Lučev swimming Split 2014
BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ
Mate Arapov Ognjen Uljević sailing Split 2008
BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ
Ivan Kljaković Gašpić European Championship Finn Split 2010
BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ
Lidija Lijić Vulić freediving world record holder Vis 2011
BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ
Mate Perić Strongest Man of the Balkan powerlifting champion Split 2014
BOŽIDAR VUKIČEVIĆ
Igor Štimac NK Zagreb vs HNK Hajduk Split Croatian First League 2010
DAMIR KRAJAČ
LEDA CUP 2025 Zagreb Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall
DAVOR PUKLAVEC
First Steps youth football tournament Croatia 2025
DRAGO ŠIMIĆ
Zelić vs Dragojević competitive sports duel 2018
DUJE KLARIĆ
Hajduk Split old stadium 1974 archival football photograph
FEĐA KLARIĆ
Veljko Rogošić marathon Vis to Split archival swimming photograph
FEĐA KLARIĆ
Matija Marinić canoe slalom Olympic hopeful Zagreb 2021
IGOR KRALJ
Croatia vs Brazil FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarter-final
IGOR KRALJ
Croatia vs Morocco FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 third place bronze medal
IGOR KRALJ
FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom Kranjska Gora 2012
IGOR KRALJ
Zvonimir Deranja HNK Hajduk Split Croatian league title 2004
JAKOV PRKIĆ
HNK Hajduk Split vs Croatia 1993 Torcida supporters
MATKO BILJAK
Dino Rađa Pop 84 European champions Split 1990 archival photograph
MATKO BILJAK
Toni Kukoč Pop 84 vs Maccabi Split 1990
MATKO BILJAK
Dražen Petrović farewell Zagreb 1993 Croatian basketball legend
SINIŠA HANČIĆ
Ivica Kostelić young skier Medvednica 1993
SINIŠA HANČIĆ
Janica Kostelić young skier Medvednica 1993
SINIŠA HANČIĆ
Valent and Martin Sinković Olympic gold rowing Paris 2024
TOM DUBRAVEC
Matija Marinić canoe slalom Zagreb 2021
IGOR KRALJ
Croatia vs Brazil FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
IGOR KRALJ
Croatia vs Morocco bronze FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
IGOR KRALJ
Zvonimir Deranja Hajduk championship title 2004
JAKOV PRKIĆ
European Throwing Cup discus 2021
MILAN ŠABIĆ
New Year small football Split 2021
MILAN ŠABIĆ
Croatia silver medal welcome Split 2018
MIROSLAV LELAS
Filip Krovinović Croatian Cup final Split 2022
MIROSLAV LELAS
Ivica Tucak European Water Polo Championship Split 2022
MIROSLAV LELAS
Roko Leni Ukić Karlo Žganec playoff Split 2023
RENATO PEZZI
Niko Kovač FIFA World Cup Germany 2006
SANJIN STRUKIĆ
Sandra Elkasević Olympic bronze discus Paris 2024
TOM DUBRAVEC
Jerko Marinić Kragić European Water Polo Championship 2022
TOM DUBRAVEC
Clare Cryan diving training Gloria Sports Arena 2019
TOMASZ MARKOWSKI
Dylan Groenewegen Tour de Pologne Katowice 2020 cycling crash
TOMASZ MARKOWSKI
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Willingen 2024 judges observing jump
TOMASZ MARKOWSKI
Blanka Vlašić athletics competition 2010
VLADIMIR DUGANDŽIĆ
Ratko Rudić World Water Polo Championship 2007 gold
VLADIMIR DUGANDŽIĆ
World Sailing Championship Split
ZVONIMIR BARIŠIN
Neretva Boat Marathon Komin flares
ZVONIMIR BARIŠIN

ALL
AUTHORS

SLIDESHOW

Thank you to all participants

We thank all authors for their participation. Every submitted work is part of a shared sports story. Photography and sport share a universal language understood equally by athletes and audiences.

Slideshow of all photographs

All submitted authors are presented in a video showcase.

Watch slideshow on YouTube

Competition in numbers

447 works submitted from 4 countries.

NIGHT
OF MUSEUMS

LOCATION

Gripe Sports Center, ceremonial hall

Split, Osječka 11

Award Ceremony

The exhibition opened as part of Night of Museums 2026 at the Split Sports Hall of Fame, with announcement of winners and jury awards, alongside a multimedia presentation of all submitted works. During Night of Museums '26 visitors were invited to see photographs not only as sports documents, but as independent visual narratives that transcend the moment in which they were created.

Program

  • 30 Jan 2026 at 18:00 | Exhibition opening
  • 30 Jan 2026 at 19:00 | Winners announcement and awards
  • 5 Feb 2026 at 22:00 | Public Grand Prix announcement + visitor prize draw
  • 10 Feb 2026 at 17:00 | Public Grand Prix award ceremony
Read article about the exhibition
Read article about visitor prize draw

EXHIBITION
TOUR

POP-UP LOCATIONS

Exhibition on the move

After its premiere at the Hall of Fame, the exhibition continues to:

Mall of Split 07.02. - 02.03.2026.
▼

Mall of Split 1 Mall of Split 2
Schools OŠ PAZDIGRAD 03.03. - 10.03.2026.
▼
Cities of Split-Dalmatia County Coming soon
▼

BECOME
PART OF THE STORY

COMPETITION 2026

Get notified

Submissions for the next edition of Between 2 Heartbeats
open in November 2026. Register to receive early notification.