The traditional 458th jumps from Stari most will take place on Sunday, July 28, and around 50 jumpers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire region should take part in them.
The president of the “Mostari” Diving Club, Lorens Listo, confirmed at a press conference on Friday that many divers from the region will participate in the competition.
“We expect about fifty jumpers, 25 head jumpers and 25 foot jumpers. We will know the exact number on Sunday. Jumpers traditionally come to us from the whole region, maybe even from Slovenia, everyone is welcome and we don’t limit the number of competitors like other ski jumps do,” said Listo.
He also revealed whether there are competitors from Mostar who can enter the short circle of favorites at the Sunday jumps.
“Ad for the jumps, we try our best every year. We all know that our swallow jumps are in trouble, it’s an attractive but dangerous jump, and that’s why we work with the juniors to get as many children as possible “on the way” to jump the swallow. It is up to the jury to decide who is the best, and it is certain that we will not favor the jumpers from Mostar,” said Listo.
The Sunday jumps will be opened at 4 p.m. by Petra Kožul, who will perform a point of dance on silk from the arch of the bridge.
The evaluation jury this year consists of five members.
“Traditionally, the jury is composed of five members, and jumps on the feet in two series and on the head will be evaluated. The jury is international this year (Samir Zukanović Lilo, Branko Bogičević, Semir Drocić and Faruk Solaković) and I think that is very good,” believes Alica Jakirović, president of the jury and member of the organizing committee of this year’s jumps.
One of the main goals in recent years is the inclusion of jumps on the UNESCO list of protected intangible heritage.
“We started this project five years ago, and this year the Tourist Board of the City of Mostar joined us. A contract was signed with the City, where the jump from Stari Most is included in the MostarPass and the daily tour of Mostar. This year we will take this project even more seriously and we hope that in 2026 the jumps will be included in the UNESCO list of intangible world heritage and that is our main goal,” said Mustafa Hadžajlić, member of the organizing committee.
A large project of the Museum of Jumps is also planned.
“We have already been visited two or three times this year by people from UNESCO, who suggested that we open a Jumping Museum. This is a serious matter, we will listen to them and the Museum is a new project that will be in the tower where we are located. The city of Mostar opened its doors wide and gave us that space,” adds Hadžajlić.
Adela Gosto, a member of the organizing committee of the 458th jump from the Old Bridge, pointed out that this year there was more support from all institutions.
“Finally, not only the City of Mostar, but also HNK and the Federation understand the seriousness and importance of jumping from the Old Bridge, so we have their support. We also have support from the cantonal ministries of education, science, culture and sports of the Croatian National Academy of Sciences and the ministry of trade, tourism and environmental protection, the Tourist Board of the City of Mostar and the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Environment,” says Gosto.
Vedran Ugljen spoke in front of the Sports Association of the City of Mostar (SSGM).
“SSGM, like every year, will support this event, we wish them a smooth flight, a nice entry into the water and that everything goes without injuries,” concluded Ugljen, Fena news agency writes.
