Miroslav Perković is the best water polo player of Montenegro in 2025, in the traditional selection of the Water Polo Swimming Federation.
Perković, once the most talented, is today one of the best centers in the world. At only 24 years old, he is a two-time Olympian, a three-time World Championship participant, and will soon make his third appearance at the European Championships.
On the club scene, with Novi Beograd this year he played in the Champions League final, as well as the Serbian Championship final, and won the Cup trophy.
The best young water polo player of the year is Strahinja Gojković from Jadran M:tel.
He turned 18 in March, and four months later he made his first appearances in a major competition in the senior selection at the World Championships in Singapore.
After just a few days of rest, he joined the under-18 generation and led them to the European title. He was named the best player of the European Championship.
The award for best coach, named after trophy expert and first Montenegrin coach Petar Porobić, went to Nebojša Milić, who led the U18 national team to European gold.
His chosen ones showed total dominance in Oradea and with all six wins they won the European Championship title.
The best swimmer is Jana Borović, who will be remembered in 2025 for her performance at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje.
At that competition, which brings together the most talented European athletes, she set a new Montenegrin record in the 100-meter backstroke - and became the Montenegrin record holder in that discipline in cadet, junior and senior competitions.
The best swimmer in 2025 is Miloš Milenković, winner of two gold medals at the Games of the Small Countries of Europe - the first for Montenegrin swimming at that competition. He also broke the Games records in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly.
He was at the same level at the World Championships in Singapore, and ended the year with two national records at the European Championships in small pools, in his disciplines - 50 and 100 meter butterfly.
At a special ceremony called the Water Polo and Swimming Evening at the Splendid Hotel in Bečići, the results of 2025 and the successes that marked it were summarized.
The members of the bronze medal-winning U16 team from the European Championships in Istanbul and the water polo players who won the European Under-18 Championship title in Oradea were awarded.
President Nikola Milić said in his welcoming speech that 2025 was a year in which much was achieved - there were medals, records, great matches, dramatic finishes and moments that will never be forgotten.
He pointed out that 2025 was a year of big plans for the future.
"We have launched initiatives and started implementing projects that will ensure that the conditions we create fully reflect the importance of water polo and swimming," said Milić.
Milić recalled the successes of Montenegrin water polo and swimming, especially highlighting the bronze medal of the U16 national team at the European Championships in Istanbul and the championship title of the U18 team in Oradea.
According to him, the welcome in Kotor of the generation that has become the pride of the entire country was magnificent.
"Joy, pride and emotion carried the city. We saw children greeting their friends, our national team members, with flags. Parents with tears in their eyes, proud and with the trepidation that only a parent can feel for their child. Fans who sang and rejoiced until the early hours of the morning. In those days, our national team members under the age of 18 were the joy of this nation, faith in goodness and quality and proof that hard work pays off, that justice exists, and that work produces results," Milić emphasized.
He emphasized that in order to have reason to celebrate and continue to progress in the coming period, the Federation, together with the institutions, must continue to provide adequate conditions for the work of all selections - from the youngest categories to the senior teams.
"The issue of infrastructure is equally important, because without adequate swimming pools, training centers and working conditions, neither the results nor the development of sports can be sustainable. Significant steps have been made in this segment as well. The tender for the closure of the Olympic swimming pool in Podgorica has been completed, which officially creates the preconditions for initiating the issue of candidacy for the 2028 European Championship," said Milić.
He announced that the tender in Bar has also been completed and that the selection of the best bidder is underway.
"Announcements are coming from the Municipality of Tivat about planning the construction of an indoor swimming pool. A positive development is also coming from Herceg Novi: the reconstruction of the swimming pool in Igalo has been included in the Municipality's budget, which represents the first concrete step towards its final arrangement and putting it into full function. Herceg Novi, as the city that has produced the largest number of Olympians, undoubtedly deserves to get its own indoor Olympic swimming pool as soon as possible. There is also a tender for the swimming pool in Pljevlja, because every corner of our country is equally important to us," said Milić.
He reiterated that even after a year, he remains firm in his stance that water polo deserves the status of a national sport.
"I am pleased that institutions are increasingly recognizing this initiative and in a certain way providing support for its development. We will continue to be fully committed to this idea, until its realization, because water polo is part of the identity of Montenegro, a national team that has built a tradition of top results and sporting pride," concluded Milić.
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