The success of Mahmić and coach Hamza Alić reveals a brutal truth: we have champions, but we lack a sports system. How long will this last?

On the first competition day at EYOF in Skopje, our young athlete Enhar Mahmić, competing among the top 15 young shot-putters in Europe, won Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first gold medal with a result of 19.34m.

The gold medal of the young champion Enhar Mahmić, under the guidance of coach Hamza Alić, is not just a sports achievement; it is a mirror of the talent that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina carry within themselves. And every time such a name appears, it reminds us of one thing: there is potential, but no systemic support.

Their success is an individual victory of talent, hard work, and sacrifice, not a product of a sports system. Because, honestly, that system in Bosnia and Herzegovina – does not really exist. When, after EYOF, the Balkan Championship, or world junior competitions, we look at medals, everyone is proud, but only a few ask themselves: where will these athletes be in 5, 10 years? The answer is painful—far too often, in other countries, under foreign flags 🇧🇦, seeking conditions they weren’t given here.

That’s why we have three, at most five Olympians at the Olympics. That’s why we have athletes without basic working conditions, without professional support, with parents as the only “system” pushing them forward. Sport is a serious activity—educational, health, and economic—it is a sector, and yet here, it’s too often just a cheap card for political promotion.

Athletes need a clear criteria-based funding model, results, work, and continuity. Public funds should reflect the value that sport brings—not meant for political divisions, but for conditions that foster development and progress.

The exception exists. There are people who see a broader picture, who want change, and who refuse mediocrity. Enhar Mahmić is a sign of hope and a reminder: individual success is possible despite the system, but society and sports advance when the system is an ally.

It’s time to move from the trend of “saving talented individuals” to building a sports pyramid where every champion is the crown of the system.

Dr. Izet Rađo, President of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina