Do they really? In fact, they do. A list of the most successful Croatian models includes this impressive picture of Adrijana Dejanovic. Miss Dejanovic is 179 CM tall. (5' 10" 1/2.)
This picture of Helena Sopar displays the same morphology:
Ms. Sopar is 5'9.5 / 177.
Korina Longin, pictured sideways, is 175 CM.
The long-leggedness of Croatian models is so reliable that in a case like this Elle cover of Kristina Sajko, where we can't even see her legs, we can assume their length. (I have faith in stereotypes.)The editors of Elle simply didn't have room for them. Ms. Sajko is 5' 8 1/2.
This is a limited, carefully selected sample, of course, but as John Derbyshire had occasion to remark, "data" actually is the plural of "anecdote."