President Milanović Attends Award Ceremony Honouring Best Student Athletes of the University of Zagreb

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović attended today an award ceremony honouring the best student athletes of the University of Zagreb for the academic year 2023/2024. He congratulated the student athletes on their numerous medals, emphasizing the importance of sports as a complement to academic obligations, but stated that their education should come first.

The President praised the honoured athletes for their effort and discipline, emphasizing that sport and education are two complementary spheres that, when successfully balanced, can foster personal growth and development. Speaking about the values that sport instils, President Milanović noted that they do not arise exclusively from sports activities but are shaped by earlier life experiences: “I agree that sport is an incredible thing. Does sport itself create and determine one’s attitude toward work and habits? Both yes and no. I think these values and this outlook on life are developed earlier, in the parental home, in the broader social environment, and in school from the first grade.”

“Keep training, take care of your health, don’t overdo it, and remember, your studies should still come first,” said President Milanović.

The Faculty of Economics and Business was declared the overall champion of the university sports championships, securing second place in the women’s category and first place in the men’s category. The Faculty of Kinesiology received the award for first place in the women’s category and third place in the men’s. The women’s team from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) won third place, while the men’s team secured second place. FER was also recognized as the most active higher education institution in the last academic year.

Special awards were presented to the university teams in futsal, kickboxing, taekwondo, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, beach handball, and rowing for their international achievements. The University of Zagreb table tennis team was recognized as the best women’s team, while the futsal team was named the best men’s team. The women’s table tennis team claimed the European title at the European University Games in Hungary, and the futsal team secured the gold medal at the World University Championships in China.

The best male athlete at the University of Zagreb in the last academic year was Borna Pečko, a taekwondo athlete and student at the Faculty of Kinesiology, while the best female athlete was Andrea Pavlović, a table tennis athlete and student at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology.

The ceremony featured speeches from several distinguished guests, including Jasenka Ostojić, Vice-rector for Art, Culture and Inter-university Cooperation at the University of Zagreb; Davor Pavlović, Head of the Sports Office at the University of Zagreb and President of the Zagreb Academic Sports Association; Kristina Singer, delegate of the City of Zagreb and Deputy Head of the City Office for Education, Sports, and Youth; and Krešimir Šamija, delegate of the Prime Minister and Director of the Sports Directorate at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Representing all the awarded students, Andrea Pavlović also addressed the audience.

President Milanović was accompanied by Jadranka Žarković, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education, and Tomislav Paškvalin, Commission of the President of the Republic for Sports.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas