Ivkovic dedicated his victory to the Alka Knights' Society that organises this tournament and to the recently deceased mayor of Sinj, Ivica Glavan.
The jubilee, 300th edition of this lancing event attracted great interest from media, with a record high number of reporters accredited to cover it, and also thousands of spectators who flocked in Sinj to see the race and the accompanying festivities.
In attendance at the final race were top officials and apart from the Croatian head of state, also several cabinet ministers were present, while Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic cancelled his attendance for minor health problems. On Saturday morning, Milanovic attended the ceremony of inauguration of Sinjska Alka Tournament Museum in Sinj.
During her stay in Sinj on Sunday, Grabar-Kitarovic said that the spirit of chivalry and prowess nurtured by the local lancing tournament "Sinjska Alka" should be also transposed to the policies pursued by Croatian politicians, adding that Croatia needed unity and consensus about the state's most important goals.
"I would like the spirit of chivalry and prowess which we will see during today's race be transposed to Croatian policies," the president told reporters after she was received by the management of the Sinjska Alka tournament.
The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader, Tomislav Karamarko, said in Sinj today that Alka was very important event and also an opportunity for people to express their opinion, which was why the politics could not be removed from that event.
Asked by reporters whether this traditional tournament had become highly politicised, the Opposition leader said that Alka had great import in the terms of history, culture and heritage to be freed of politics.
"I would say that Alka is an opportunity for people to speak out. This has always been so," the HDZ chief said.
In a comment to reporters' remarks that it was during last year's tournament in Sinj that he had predicted that the HDZ presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic would win the presidential election, Karamarko said that he had known that Grabar-Kitarovic would win the election given that "the then president (Ivo) Josipovic did not do his job well".
Addressing the 17 participants in the final race and spectators that swarmed the southern Croatian town for that contest, Ante Vucic, who was in charge of the organisation of tournament in his capacity of the so-called Alka Duke, on Sunday called for national reconciliation and unity and for efforts to be invested to pull the country out of the economic crisis so as to halt a large-scale departure of young Croatians from their homeland.
"Let us halt the emigration of young people from Croatia, only they can ensure our future. Let us commemorate all war victims, without making any difference among them, and pay tribute to all who have given their lives for the homeland. Let us preserve our dignity, freedom and Croatia's territory so as to leave a happier Croatia to our children," Vucic said in his speech before the beginning of the final race of the three-day tournament.
He appealed for fostering traditional values such as dedication to the Catholic faith, dignity and chivalry promoted by Sinj Alka for centuries and underscored that the history of this tournament proved that "the darkest hour is just before the dawn."
As usual, at the start of his speech, the Alka Duke forwarded his best regards to prominent guests attending the event, and at the mention of the name of President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, the crowd gave great applause. The president, under whose auspices the event was being held, later gave the trophy to the winner at the end of the race.
While Duke Vucic was sending his best regards to PM Milanovic, who had to cancel his attendance due to minor health problems, and to the attending ministers, several boos could be heard.
On the other hand, the mention of the presence of the Opposition leader, Tomislav Karamarko of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) received loud cheers.
In his speech, Vucic in particular thanked Croatian Homeland Defence War volunteers and veterans for the liberation of the country 20 years ago, which paved the way for Croatia's freedom and its admission to NATO and the European Union, he added.
A record high number of 250 accredited reporters were covering the 300th edition of this knightly tournament.
The Sinjska Alka tournament commemorates a victory by 700 Croatian defenders of Sinj, about 30 kilometres inland from the southern coastal city of Split, against 60,000 Ottoman soldiers under Mehmed Pasha Celic on August 14, 1715. The competition features period-clad horsemen riding at full gallop and aiming their lances at an iron ring, called the alka, which is suspended from a rope above the 160-metre-long race track. The tournament was inscribed on UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage list in 2010.