IN ALL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, THE OLYMPIC GAMES ARE A PROJECT OF THE STATE, NOT OF THE NON-BUDGET ASSOCIATION OF CITIZENS - THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

For Bosnia and Herzegovina, the just-concluded Tokyo Games will be remembered as the most successful. Our Olympians who achieved the A Olympic norms met expectations and took high places within their competitions.

Nedžad Husić, who won 5th place in taekwondo, surpassed the best result of the shooter Nedžad Fazlija from Sydney in 2000. Amel Tuka took an excellent 6th place after the "lion fight" and injury in the final athletics race in the 800m. Larisa Cerić achieved one victory and one defeat, which was enough for 9th place in Judo. Mesud Pezer took an excellent 11th place in the Shot put final. We should not forget the placement of fifteen-year-old Lane Pudar, who won 19th place in swimming (100m dolphin) and was missing 28 hundredths to qualify for the semifinals of the Olympic Games in this discipline.

Two competitors "at the invitation and re-allocation of quotas" also qualified for the Games. Swimmer Emir Muratović won 42nd place in the 50m crawl discipline and 45th place in the 100m crawl, while Tatjana Đekanović won 47th place in the 10m air rifle shooting discipline.

The Presidency of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that "these were the most successful Games because we had four immediate opportunities to win an Olympic medal. Nedžad Husić fought for the medal twice, while athletes Amel Tuka and Mesud Pezer also had the opportunity once. Encouraging result are also from  both young and talented Lana Pudar.

The BiH Olympic Committee has been preparing for Tokyo 2020 for 5 years. During this period, OC BiH has implemented hundreds of projects, including capital projects EYOF 2019 and the renovation of the Olympic Museum building. In the sports system of BiH on an annual level, OC BiH "injected" approximately 1.5 million KM. 94% of these funds were provided by OC BiH through its own project activities, and only 6% was received through grants from the competent ministries.

In the same period, OC BiH provided 14 scholarships for potential Olympic candidates and "program plus" for applicants to win an Olympic medal in the total amount of 831,000 KM. If we add to this support the costs of air transportation, ceremonial equipment, tests etc., we come to the figure of one million marks provided and spent for the Tokyo Olympics project. It is a great accomplishment for the Association of Citizens and the non-budget Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not responsible for financing sports.

OC BiH is already dedicated to the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. We have completed a one-year project "recognizing young Olympic hopes" from which 3 names have stood out: Lana Pudar, Jovan Lekić and Ada Avdagić, which we will support with 4,000 USD each. We will continue in the same scope and pace to support the best athletes through three-year scholarships who deserve it with their results and who aspire to qualify and achieve a high ranking at the Paris 2024 Olympics. We will continue with "Program Plus" for the best of the best. We will continue to search for young and talented athletes and provide them with all the necessary conditions so that they do not go to other countries and perform for them. OC BiH will continue to fulfill its mission 100% as a credible and transparent institution with only eight employees and volunteers in the Presidency, Executive Board and Commissions.

Unfortunately, in this process we feel lonely and we would like to have more partners on our "Olympic Road". In every European country, the Olympic Games and the national Olympic team is a state project in which the President sends and welcomes athletes, and the ministries in charge of sports compete in providing funds for achieving top results. Except for a few bright examples, this is not the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We expect concrete and significant support from the Council of Ministers of BiH, all ministries responsible for sports on our joint path to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Olympic medal will certainly come to Bosnia and Herzegovina sooner or later, but we would prefer, and much easier, to have it the fruit of a strong sports system and teamwork, which is one of the fundamental Olympic values.

Finally, the Olympic Committee would like to thank all those who supported the Tokyo 2020 project, especially our athletes, their parents and families, the sports federations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and our sponsors.

Delegation of OK BiH that participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics:

 ATHLETICS

Amel Tuka, 800m

Giovanni Ghidini, coach

Mesud Pezer, Shot put

Mehmed Skender, coach

 TAEKWONDO

Nedzad Husic, -68kg

Haris Husic, coach

 JUDO

Larisa Ceric, + 78kg

Arijana Jaha, coach

 SWIMMING

Lana Pudar, 100m dolphin

Alena Ćemalović, coach

Damir Djedovic, chaperone

Emir Muratović, 50m and 100m crawl

 SHOOTING

Tatjana Đekanović, air rifle 10m

Neven Rasic, coach

 HEAD OF MISSION

dr sci. Said Fazlagić

 PHYSIOTHERAPIST

Nedim Ćatibović