Winter EYOF Up for Peace and Sport Award

(ATR) Peace and Sport nominates the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the cities of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo for a Diplomatic Action of the Year award in staging the 2019 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF).

The EYOF in February was the first international multi-sport event organized in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the Bosnian War (1992-1995).

The European Olympic Committees (EOC), in a statement on Monday, said that the event "marked a historic moment for Bosnia Herzegovina, illustrating willingness on all sides to embrace peace and friendship through sport, and to work together for a brighter future".

A total of 911 athletes from 46 of the 50 European National Olympic Committees (ENOCs) took part in the multi-sport event for Europe’s best athletes between the ages of 14 and 18.

Created in 2008, the annual Peace and Sport Awards celebrate organizations and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to peace, dialogue and social stability in the world through sport. The 2019 Awards Ceremony will be in Monaco on Dec. 12 as part of the Peace and Sport International Forum.

The EOC announced the candidate cities for the 2025 Winter and Summer EYOFs during the organization’s general assembly in Warsaw, Poland over the weekend.

The Republic of Georgia cities of Borjomi and Bakuriani are up for the winter edition while Brno in the Czech Republic is in line for the summer version.

The EOC general assembly was also updated on the 2021 EYOFs in Vuokatti, Finland (winter) and Banská Bystrica, Slovakia (summer).

In addition, Istanbul was named as the location for the 49th EOC General Assembly in 2020, with Athens getting the nod for the 50th edition in 2021.

On Friday, The General Assembly approved amendments to the EOC Articles of Association, including a measure based on IOC recommendations regarding gender equality intended to give the EOC a leading role in increasing the number of women in leadership roles in sport.

The two-day general assembly wrapped on Saturday, followed by the 100th Anniversary Gala for the National Olympic Committee of Poland. The winner of the 9th Summer Edition of the Piotr Nurowski Best European Young Athlete Prize was also revealed.

World silver medalist high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine was the choice in a vote by the EOC general assembly.

Mahuchikh, who finished second at the recently concluded World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, claimed the prize ahead of swimmer Franko Grcic of Croatia (2nd), artistic gymnast Giorgia Villa of Italy (3rd), cyclist Madis Mihkels of Estonia (4th), and fencer Liza Pusztai of Hungary (4th).

All of the athletes are medalists from the EYOF, the Youth Olympic Games or both.

Mahuchikh was presented with a €15,000 scholarship to help with her training and education. The second and third-place finishers secured €8,000 and €5,000, respectively. The two athletes who finished joint fourth both received €3,000.

Also during the gala, Polish hammer thrower Anita Włodarczyk was awarded her gold medal from London 2012 by IOC President Bach.Włodarczyk, who defended her title at Rio 2016, initially finished second in London but was reassigned gold after Russia'sTatyana Lysenko was disqualified for doping violations.

Written by Gerard Farek

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