Overview of results and participation at the Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games:

With the Closing Ceremony of the Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games, the most successful Mediterranean Games for the BH team and OC BiH were officially closed. In these Games, 24 countries participated among them respectable sports nations such as Italy, Spain, Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, and others with a total of 4500 competitors and coaches.

Although the competition was exceptional, our biggest Mediterranean star, Lana Pudar, shone twice on the podium, winning two gold medals, the first in the 200m and the second in the 100m dolphin. Our orca, as the youngest among its competitors, also broke the Mediterranean record in the 100m dolphin event, and to the pride of the entire nation ensured the raising of the BH flag and the singing of the BH national anthem among the 24 participating countries at these Mediterranean Games. For our Lana, these were the first Mediterranean Games and represented only one more step in her great sports career.

The first medals at the Games were recorded by BH karate players, and three bronze medals were won by Hamza Turulja, Nejra Sipović, and Rijad Džuho. We are certainly talking about promising young athletes from whom we can expect even better results in the future.

The BH judo team did not lack excellent results, and Anđela Samardžić, Toni Miletić, and Larisa Cerić pleased us with three more bronze medals. If we add up all the medals won, the BH team has a total of 8 medals in its Mediterranean collection, 2 gold, and 6 bronze, and these are the most successful Mediterranean Games for the BH team and the Olympic Committee of BH so far.

But we must not leave out the other members of the BH team who may not have had sports luck or due to injuries could not achieve their best performance. Among them was our best shot putter, Mesud Pezer, who had an excellent first series of throws, and had to give up the third series due to an injury already in the second. Even with the injury and the exclusion of the third series of throws, Mesud found himself in 4th place. Dejan Mileusnić, the javelin thrower, was very close to winning a medal, but a little sporting luck was lacking, and Dejan took 4th place in the final standings.

There were also excellent performances by the shooting team, taekwondo, boxing, bowling, cycling, weightlifting, and gymnastics. Nikola Jovičić in the air pistol discipline entered the finals and took 7th place. Our cyclist Vedad Karić drove an extremely demanding road race, while our Andrija Ćorluka took 5th place in bocce in the high-speed breakaway discipline. Our boxers experienced a great referee's injustice in their fights against the host representatives, but they accepted it as is expected in big competitions in the spirit of sportsmanship. Our gymnast Sergej Malić Čorni took 16th place, which represents an excellent move for BH gymnastics, while our weightlifter Dino Smajić broke 6 national records with his performance at these Games.

We would like to thank the coach of Lana Pudar, Alena Ćemalović, the karate team coach Asmer Šeta, the judo team coach Prof. Dr. Branislav Crnogorac, but also the other coaches: Mehmed Skender, Kadi Delić Selimović, Hajrudin Trle, Goran Jurić, Almedin Fetahović, Predrag Bartula, Haris Durak , Siniša Kovačević, Edin Fazlija, Haris Husić and judge Dana Pepić.

You can find all the results of the BH team on the website and/or social networks of OC BiH.

It is important to point out that these Games represented an extremely difficult project, and that 176,750.00 KM of funds were allocated for their realization, of which OK BiH allocated 94,000.00 KM, and the rest of the funds were allocated by sports associations and clubs. There was no participation of state authorities in these Games, and although all members of the BH team proudly represented their country, they had to do it at their own expense. The Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to provide all participants with sports equipment and finance the departure of 24 athletes and coaches. Transporting the BiH team to the Mediterranean Games was a special challenge, and while we watched how the countries in the region did it by providing charter flights for their team members, OK BiH had to do it with commercial flights with great efforts. OC BiH hereby thanks its loyal sponsors, without whose support these Games could not be realized. Many thanks to BH Telecom, Lutrija BiH, GB3 - sports equipment, and Sarajevo osiguranje

Sport should not know borders and restrictions, should not depend on the adoption of the state budget, and ultimately should not be based only on the efforts of individuals because athletes are the best ambassadors of a country, and as such, they should be recognized not as individuals but as representatives of the state.

The Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina has fulfilled its mission. We proudly saw off the performances of 48 athletes at these Mediterranean Games, and with the same amount of pride and enthusiasm, we will do so for the upcoming Games.