Sandi Peruško, one of Croatia’s leading spearfishing athletes, is preparing to represent his country for the third time as a competitor at a major international championship.
Born in Pula on 19 February 1985 and sponsored by XT Diving Pro, Peruško will be one of the three Croatian athletes competing at the 2026 CMAS Euro-African Spearfishing Championship in Bar, Montenegro, from 22 to 25 of October. To follow him live from sea subscribe to Apnea Passion Spearfishing Facebook page at only 2,49€.
Quiet and self-effacing on land but highly accomplished underwater, the Croatian athlete will aim to secure another top-ten finish on the international stage.
Apnea Passion’s Valentina Prokić spoke with Sandi Peruško ahead of the championship.
Sandi Peruško’s international experience
Peruško made his debut as a competitor at the 2023 CMAS Spearfishing World Championship in Laredo, Spain, where he finished 26th. One year later, at the 2024 Euro-African Championship in Turkey, he achieved an excellent 10th place.
Montenegro will therefore mark his third major international competition as an official member of the Croatian team.
However, Peruško’s experience with the national squad began much earlier. He first joined the Croatian team as an assistant in 2019 and subsequently fulfilled the same role at the World Championship in Arbatax, the Euro-African Championship in Tunisia and the 2024 World Championship in Brazil.
This will be your third major international championship as a competitor. What do you expect to find in Montenegro?
Sandi Peruško: I honestly don’t know what to expect. The conditions could be fantastic, or they could be a complete disaster. The championship will take place in late October, so rain and wind are possible, which could result in poor visibility.
On the other hand, the weather might favour us, and the entire month could turn out to be excellent. The competition zones are relatively short, and deep diving will certainly play a major role. However, we will know much more once we have completed our scouting of the zones.
I will travel to Montenegro on 8 October, which will give us time to study the areas and prepare our strategy.
Stjepko Kesić returns to the Croatian national team
Peruško will be assisted by Stjepko Kesić, one of Croatia’s finest spearfishing athletes. Kesić won the individual bronze medal at the CMAS World Championship in Arbatax and will return to the Croatian national team after a three-year absence.
His experience and knowledge of international competitions could prove extremely valuable during both the scouting period and the championship.
What result are you aiming for, and how important will Stjepko Kesić’s support be?
Sandi Peruško: I am expecting a good result. Having Stjepko as an assistant is a huge advantage for me. It would be amazing to finish in the top ten, but everything will depend on the conditions and on what awaits us out there.
From Croatian champion to the international stage
Peruško arrives in Montenegro following another successful domestic season. In 2026, he claimed the silver medal at the Croatian Individual Spearfishing Championship after winning the national title in 2025.
His collection of national results also includes second place in 2020 and third place in 2022, confirming his consistency at the highest level of Croatian competitive spearfishing.
Peruško’s principal results at the Croatian Individual Spearfishing Championship are:
- 2026: second place
- 2025: Croatian champion
- 2022: third place
- 2020: second place
The championship in Bar will offer Sandi Peruško another important opportunity to confirm his position among Europe’s strongest competitive spearfishers and help Croatia achieve an excellent team result.
