Bosnia and Herzegovina’s best alpine skier Elvedina Muzaferija, after finishing the season in the FIS World Cup and Europe Cup and returning to Sarajevo, said that she was proud of the results achieved.
Elvedina achieved a double placement in the finals of the World Cup, a high fourth place in the downhill and ninth in the Super-G discipline, and her first victory in the European Cup.
At a press conference in the premises of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, she thanked for following her throughout the season, even when the results “were not the best”.
“You gave me the space to focus on skiing, of course, and I was able to observe a lot how much support there was from all Bosnians and Herzegovinans, and I am really proud that I can achieve these results for my country and give encouragement to the younger generations and that it is really possible to achieve this kind of result in winter sports even though we come from a country where unfortunately we don’t have an organized system, but I hope that everything will change and that the children who come after me, the skiers, will have much better support,” said Muzaferija.
She pointed out that she was glad to come home for a couple of days. She added that the season did not start as they expected.
The goal was to place in the TOP 30 in one of the disciplines, in the end, I ended the season in 23rd place in Super G and 24th in downhill. For the first time, BiH had a representative at the World Cup final.
“I’m really proud of my results and this is just an indication that I can achieve even more and this was also shown in my last races where I won a couple of passes, at the World Cup final I led on the first two passes in both disciplines. The speed is there, skiing is here, it’s just a matter of time when I will be able to complete the course from the start to the finish, and I think we can expect a very good result from the beginning of the next season,” she said.
Samir Smajić, president of the BiH Ski Association, said that they are proud of Elvedina’s entire season.
“151 points in the world cup is not a small thing. It would have been more if there were no postponed races, but let’s go back to the beginning of the season which was not very ideal due to some crashes and delays from preparations in South America,” he said.
He added that the season started with falls, until January 27, and they expected the first points that came from Crans-Montana brought relief.
He said that it is the obligation of the BiH Ski Federation to provide funds for the next season, to try to keep the team that Elvedina had for the first time this year, an independent team.
In two years in Milan at the Olympic Games, they expect it to be the crowning glory of Elvedina’s season.
Kenan Magoda, Minister of Culture and Sports in Sarajevo Canton, said that he was glad to be a small part of supporting Elvedina.
“Elvedina deserves much more. Somehow, in the state in which we live, in the country, we constantly talk about finances, about the performance of the national team, how the flag should be flown, but systematically we are not resolved due to the complex situation in the country we are in. At this table we have all relevant factors so that we can truly help all our true ambassadors, athletes are definitely that for the promotion of our country,” said Kenan Magoda.
He added that Elvedina has shown that it can make a real result, announcing that it will provide half of the necessary funds, the required amount of which will be determined by Elvedina’s team.
The director of the Sarajevo Canton Tourist Board, Haris Fazlagić, said that Elvedina is “our hero”.
“I’m really proud, like all of us, especially the younger generation. Thank you to everyone who helps,” he said and emphasized that financial support is very important.
He added that Elvedina told him that 10 Italian contestants have a budget of 16 million euros per season.
He emphasized that the Sarajevo Tourist Board will continue to support Elvedina, AA writes.
