Croatia's two Olympic medalists received warm welcome on Thursday in their respective home towns soon after their return from Beijing.

Nearly 3,000 people gathered in the central square of the northern Croatian town of Cakovec to welcome the best Croatian gymnast, Filip Ude, who won a silver medal in the men's pommel horse in the Summer Olympic Games, the Croatian state news agency HINA reported.

Addressing the people who gathered to welcome him back to his home town, Ude thanked his mother, sisters and coaches in an emotionally-charged speech.

A program with popular music bands and folklore ensembles was performed in his honor. The town of Cakovec and Medjimurje County have decided to award Ude with a flat.

The 22-year-old Ude is the first Croatian gymnastic Olympic medalist since Croatia gained its independence in 1991 from the former Yugoslavia.

Croatian shooter Snjezana Pejcic, who won a bronze medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle event at the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 9, was warmly welcomed in Rijeka on Thursday evening.

Many residents of this northern Croatian coastal city gathered in the city's center for special events organized in the honor of Pejcic. The 26-year-old native of Rijeka is the first Croatian female athlete to have taken a medal at Summer Olympics.

Ude and Pejcic, who returned to Croatia on Wednesday evening, were given an enthusiastic welcome at Zagreb airport by their families, friends, athletes and sport fans, as well as by representatives of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the government and parliament.

On Thursday, Croatia's Martina Zubcic won a bronze medal in the taekwondo women's -57kg category at the Olympic Games in Beijing, beating Sung Yu-Chi of Chinese Taipei. It was the third medal for Croatia after Pejcic's bronze in the air rifle event and Ude's silver in the pommel horse.

The latest medal brings to 15 the number of medals Croatia has won at the Summer Olympic Games since it gained independence.

Croatia won three medals at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the first games in which Croatia participated as an independent country. Four years later in Atlanta, it captured two medals, and another two in Sidney in 2000. In Athens in 2004, Croatian athletes won five medals.

A total of 106 Croatian athletes compete at the Olympic Games in Beijing. This has been the largest Croatian Olympic delegation since its independence.

Besides three medals in hand, Croatia also expects medals from men's kayak, women's high jump and men's handball.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)