Track number “5” on which the young skiers of Bosnia and Herzegovina train on Sarajevo’s Olympic mountain Bjelašnica is today named after Jure Franko, the first medal winner at the Winter Olympics from the former Yugoslavia and the only domestic competitor at the time to win a medal at the Games held in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1984.
The Slovenian alpine skier, a representative of Yugoslavia in 1984, won second place in the giant slalom race, which caused euphoria and an eruption of enthusiasm in the former country.
The ribbon was cut by Franko and Nataša Pirc Musar, the President of Slovenia, the track was officially named after the former idol of 21 million inhabitants from Vardar to Triglav.
Franko did not hide his emotions and satisfaction, saying that he was extremely honored to be in Sarajevo again and that the trail was named in his honor.
“This is also our joint medal, only I keep it with me for all of you,” said Franco, showing the silver medal he won in 1984.
He also said that no trail in his Slovenia is named after any skier, so he called on his compatriots to change that, that is, to name some of the trails after Bojan Križaj, Mateja Svet and other famous skiers from this country.
“And today’s ceremony is proof of the unbreakable friendly ties between Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. You will have our full support on the path to joining the European Union,” said Slovenian President Pirc Musar, among other things.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of dignitaries from all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the diplomatic corps, city and cantonal leaders of Sarajevo, Municipality of Trnovo, KJP ZOI ’84, celebrated athletes from the 1984 Olympic Games, representatives of the media…
“Just so you know, President Pirc, dear Nataša, Jure Franko is ours. He is in our cadastre, because then we were a joint state,” joked Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and emphasized the importance of the 1984 Olympic Games in today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Johann Sattler, head of the delegation and special representative of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that he has been living “in the beautiful city of Sarajevo for four years, but it is more beautiful in its mountains.”
“There’s not a lot of politics and tough talk here. The air is cleaner here and it’s really wonderful,” Sattler said.
Nihad Uk, Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, and Jasmin Ademović, President of the Sarajevo City Council and the Organizing Committee for the 40th Annual ZOI, emphasized that they will support Sarajevo’s candidacy for the organization of the Youth Olympic Games in 2032 and announced investments in infrastructure development at the Sarajevo Olympic Games mountains, BHRT writes.
Photo: Edis Deljkovic/BHRT
