CEREMONIAL WELCOME FOR PALE OLYMPIANS FROM ITALY

PALE, FEBRUARY 23 /SRNA/ – A ceremonial welcome party has been organised tonight in Pale for the town’s Olympians Strahinja Erić, Marko Šljivić, and Teodora Delipara, as well as their coaches, who proudly represented their town and Republika Srpska at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

Alpine skier Marko Šljivić achieved a notable result, finishing 23rd in the slalom, which represents a significant success among the world’s top competitors. Nordic skiing competitor Strahinja Erić finished 67th in the sprint event and 63rd in the 10-kilometer freestyle race, while Teodora Delipara was also part of the Olympic team, proudly wearing the colours of her club and town. The Olympians, who competed as members of the BiH national team, were accompanied by their coaches Mladen Plakalović, Dragan Jeftović, and Željko Šljivić from Pale. Pale Mayor, Dejan Kojić, told press that the local community and the Republika Srpska Ski Association organised the reception for the Olympians, who are the pride of Pale and who demonstrated perseverance, hard work, and dedication. “Of the five athletes from BiH who participated in the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, three are from Pale,” Kojić said, congratulating their coaches on the achievements. Šljivić noted that his result came through a combination of circumstances, but that he is especially proud to have represented his town and country in the best possible light. “The atmosphere at the Winter Olympic Games is a completely different experience compared to other competitions. In the giant slalom, I was striving to secure qualification in order to compete more seriously in the slalom discipline, although it was not the safest approach. Weather conditions on the course changed significantly from slope to slope, and the tactic was to have a strong first run to secure a great position for the second and show my skiing,” Šljivić said. He added that he achieved a historic result for BiH in the technical disciplines and hopes it will motivate children, especially members of Pale-based ski clubs, to put in even more effort. Erić recalled that Pale has had its representatives at the Winter Olympic Games for many years. “We were born in a place where Olympians are born, thus we should respect that and strengthen the Olympic spirit. When I see so many people here tonight, it gives me hope that in the future Pale will leave its mark not only as a university town, but also as an Olympic one,” Erić emphasized. Delipara thanked her fellow citizens for the wonderful welcome, saying it means a lot to them and represents support and motivation to continue working even harder. Dragan Jeftović, coach of Nordic skiing at the Sarajevo – Istočno Sarajevo ski club, said that this time he accompanied Delipara, that they are satisfied with the performances achieved by the Olympians, and promised they will be even better in four years.