Helena Dretar Karić

Helena Dretar Karić (born 28 November 1979) is a Croatian para table tennis player who competes in the C3 category.

Helena Dretar Karić

Dretar Karić in 2009
Personal information
Born	(1979-11-28) 28 November 1979 (age 45) Varaždin, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Sport
Country	Croatia
Sport	Para table tennis
Disability class	C3
Medal record Women's para table tennis Representing  Croatia Paralympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Teams C1–3 2020 Tokyo Teams C1–3 World Championships 2017 Bratislava Teams C3 2014 Beijing Teams C1–3 European Championships 2013 Lignano Teams C1–3 2015 Vejle Teams C1–3 2017 Laško Teams C2–3 2019 Helsingborg Teams C1–3 2023 Sheffield Doubles WD5-10 2011 Split Teams C3 2019 Helsingborg Singles C3

Background

Dretar Karić was born in Varaždin on 28 November 1979. She was a talented handball player, who was hit by a car as a pedestrian at the age of 17 and has been in a wheelchair ever since.^[1] While recuperating in Varaždinske Toplice, she met the Croatian Paralympic table tennis team, and after that, she started playing the sport more intensively in 2008. She played in several clubs, mostly in the Zagreb club STKOI "Uriho".^[2]

Career

Together with Anđela Mužinić, Dretar Karić won numerous medals, including medals at the Paralympic Games (2016, 2020), at the World Championships (2014, 2017) and at the European Championships, of which five were gold at the European Championships (2013–2023) and one bronze (2011).^[1] At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Dretar Karić won silver in a pair with Muzinić. Four years later, at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, they won bronze.^[3][4]

Awards and honors

Dretar Karić received the "Franjo Bučar" State Sports Award and the Order of the Croatian Danica with the image of Franjo Bučar. As part of the Croatian Paralympic table tennis team, she received the Sportske novosti award in 2015 and 2021, in the category of women's team of the year.^[5]