As the year comes to an end, Athletic Club Borac reflects on its successes and honors its best performers.
The Banja Luka-based club ends 2024 as the top athletics club in Republika Srpska and the most successful club from Srpska at the national level in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The “red and blue” are also proud of their performance at the European Champion Clubs Cup in cross-country in Portugal, where they ranked 27th, the best result among teams from the region.
- We dominate in Banja Luka among five local clubs, and we’ve extended that dominance to the level of Republika Srpska. Our athletics school has also flourished, with 60 to 70 young participants. Although we lack the best facilities—athletics lags behind other sports in terms of infrastructure—the situation was better 10–15 years ago when we could train javelin, shot put, and discus at the City Stadium. The only solution is to build an athletics center. We want to remain the best club in Srpska, a title we’ve held for about 20 years. We’re also proud of our athletics meeting, which has grown into the “Tijana Gligić-Kosić Memorial” – said Borac’s president, Duško Ivičić.
Athletes’ achievements
Borac is proud of its athletes. Nika Popić is the national champion of BiH in the 200 meters and a member of the 4×400 mixed relay team that set a BiH record of 3:41.49, along with Jovana Zebić, Luka Ivičić, and Jovan Rosić. Popić was also named one of the ten most promising athletes in Srpska.
- I’m very happy and satisfied, and I see all this as motivation for the upcoming season. The year started successfully when I won silver with the BiH national team at the Balkan Indoor Championships and placed ninth individually in the 400 meters – said Popić.
Her teammate, Luka Ivičić, set a national indoor heptathlon record (4,721 points) and became the BiH champion in the decathlon.
- I’m extremely satisfied with my results this year. I hope to break the Republika Srpska indoor pole vault record of 4.61 meters in Belgrade by the end of the year – added Ivičić.
Other standout performers from Borac include Uroš Gutić and Aleksandra Vesić.
Future plans
Next year, the club plans to compete in championships in Srpska and BiH, as well as several international competitions.
- We’ll have ideal conditions for competition. Although our preparations won’t be at the highest level due to a lack of facilities, I hope that situation improves. We’ll focus on senior and junior Balkan Championships, where I believe we can aim for medals. We’ll also participate in the Mediterranean Championship, and we expect five to six athletes to compete in the European Team Championship – concluded Ivičić.
Source: Glas Srpske
