On Thursday, May 18, Ambassador Kinefuchi attended the handover ceremony for donated gymnastic equipment to the Gymnastic Association of BiH. The ceremony was held in the Multimedia Hall of the Olympic Committee BiH and attended by Mr. Adamir Raščić, president of the Gymnastic
Association of BiH, Mr. Milanko Mučibabić, president of the Olympic Committee BiH, Mr. Izet Rađo, vice-president of the Olympic Committee BiH, and Mr. Marijan Kvesić, vice-president of the Olympic Committee BiH.
The Gymnastic Association of BiH received a total of 100t of gymnastic equipment from the Gymnastic Association of Japan.
Mr. Raščić expressed gratitude for this generous donation and said that this is only a first step in further developing gymnastic sports in BiH. He explained that so far, athletes have been using equipment older than 50 years, and now the equipment provided by Japan that meets the international standards will be extremely useful for improving the athletes’ skills.
Ambassador Kinefuchi said that Japan’s cooperation to BiH has been extensive over 28 years, but in the area of sports, the cooperation and exchange have been limited in judo, karate and football, and that this donation of gymnastic equipment is expanding this scope to another sport, and is the first step in strengthening the relations of Japan and BiH in gymnastic.
He expressed his hope that we will see gymnastics world gold medalist from BiH in the years to come.
The donation includes landing mats, gymnastic rings, balance beam, horizontal bar, and other gymnastic equipment, and will be used by gymnastic clubs at Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zenica, Mostar, and other cities in BiH.
