Members of the Athletics Club Podgorica, Danijel Furtula and Marija Vuković, are the best athletes in Montenegro in 2021, in the traditional selection of the Athletics Association.
Furtula and Vuković were participants of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Vuković qualified for the final of the Olympic Games and won ninth place in the high jump, which is the greatest success in the history of Montenegrin athletics so far.
She won gold medals at the Balkan Indoor Championships in Istanbul and the Open in Smederevo, and the gold was at the Small European Countries Championship in San Marino.
She triumphed at the rallies in Athens, and finished seventh at the European Indoor Championships.
"It is nice to be the best senior in the Athletics Association. I am glad that with my results I presented Montenegrin athletics on the European and world stage in the best way. I hope that next year we will be even more numerous at major competitions, as well as at the Olympic Games in Paris ", said Vuković.
She emphasized that in 2022 new challenges and several big competitions await her.
Furtula won 24th place at the Olympic Games in the discus throw.
He ranks 29th in the world ranking, and 15th in the table of the European Athletics Federation.
"The year was difficult, turbulent, because of all the covid measures, but also some difficulties in the work of the federation and some other sports structures. At the end of the year, a person can be satisfied, above all, that he is healthy. I am ready and motivated to make even greater feats. I am satisfied, I can be proud of the award, the competition is getting stronger every year," said Furtula.
The best junior in 2021 is Ognjen Vojvodić from Mornar, while the best juniors were Andrea Matković (Mornar) and Irena Bošković (Tara).
The best juniors were Ognjen Marsenić (Lim), Milica Pejović (2004, Podgorica), Maša Bubanja (2005, Lim) and Vesna Kljajević (Tara), while the best pioneers were Milivoje Pajović (2006, Orion) and Anabela Mujović (Sanja ).
Dragoljub Koprivica (Sailor) and Vesna Pavlićević (Podgorica Marathon) were declared the best veterans.
Tomaš Đurović, Dragan and Darko Pešić were awarded special recognition for the results achieved in 2021, while Risto Drobnjak, Amir Papazi and Ljiljana Matović received special recognition.
The Athletics Federation awarded a special award to coach Osman Erović, for the outstanding achievements of athletes on the international scene.
National coaches Zoran Jojić, Marko Ristic and Ivan Popović also received awards.
President Gojko Banjević said that Montenegrin athletics achieved the greatest success in history since independence in 2006.
"ASCG was the only Federation whose athletes from individual sports met the standards for participation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which gives specialness to the results achieved this year. We realized all the competitions from the national competition program in all age categories. In the implementation of all activities, "The Sports and Youth Administration, as well as the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, from which three of our athletes received Olympic scholarships, made an exceptional contribution, albeit with many difficulties," said Banjević.
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