The day before the trip to the Olympics in Barcelona, where he was supposed to represent our country in judo and carry the flag of the independent state of the Republic of BiH, on the 8th of May 1992, Vinko Samarlic got killed while defending Sarajevo, during the famous battle for Hrasno Brdo.
Samarlic received permission from BiH authorities to leave the lines and prepare for the Olympics. However, he did not want to leave his comrades from the Special Unit of MIA BiH Squad Bosna.
He had his last battle and the match on that 8th of June.
Samarlic was a prominent judo athlete in the club Zeljeznicar, with which he won numerous medals and who took him to the national team of BiH.
A street in Sarajevo settlement Dobrinja is now named after him. Judo club Zeljeznicar, in memory of the top athlete and hero of the defense of Sarajevo, traditionally organizes the Memorial tournament “Vinko Samarlic”.
Samarlic was posthumously awarded with the “Golden Police Star,” “Medal of Bravery” and “Order of the golden coat of arms with swords”.
He was born on the 8th of March 1964, in Crkvica near Zavidovici, where he finished primary school. Then he came to Sarajevo, where he finished secondary police school after which he started working as a police officer. He became member of special forces in 1985, when he became commander of a combat unit with the rank of captain.
(Source: nap.ba)
