The 10 accomplished Special Olympics Serbia athletes recognised by the Ministry visited the Special Olympics Serbia offices this week to officially sign their stipend papers under strict social distancing protocol. Sports stipends—which have been awarded to Special Olympics Serbia athletes for the past 10 years—are given on the basis of the athletes’ sporting achievements over the previous year.
Speaking on the day of the official stipend signing, Dragana Vuksan, one of the athletes awarded, said, “It makes me very happy and blessed to be given this opportunity as a Special Olympics Serbia athlete. This shows that all the hard work and hours in the sports hall have been worth it. I want to tell all my friends to continue training hard and give it 100%."
“For us as a sports organisation and for our athletes, it is of great importance to be recognised this way by our national Ministry of Youth and Sports. For our athletes to be up there with all the best men and women in the world of sports in our country is hugely significant. Over the past ten years, Special Olympics Serbia and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have developed a viable and dynamic partnership that provides persons with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in high level sports and be recognised for their achievements."
The 10 Special Olympics athletes awarded stipends for their sporting achievements in 2019 are: Filp Bartole, Marko Malbasic, Aleks Karamani, Zoran Radanov, Dragana Vuksan, Milos Dokic, David Petrov, Radmila Miric, Vesna Konstadinov and Sanja Ristic.