4th Bilateral Athletics Meet held in Belgrade

The 4th Bilateral Athletics Meet between cadet teams of the military academies of the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation was held today at the Athletic Hall in Belgrade.



At this traditional international sporting event, young military athletes competed in several track and field disciplines, including shot put, long jump, 60m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m races, as well as the 4x200m relay.

In his opening remarks, Colonel Srđan Blagojević, Ph.D., Commandant of the Military Academy, emphasized the importance of this traditional sporting event, now being held for the fourth time. He highlighted that, in addition to its sporting character, the meet also has a significant diplomatic aspect. He expressed his gratitude to all contributors who took part in the organization, noting that the event was established in 2019, and expressing his belief that Serbia would continue to be a good host and an active participant in future competitions.



- It is a great honour for us to once again host this sporting event. Since the competition is now being held for the fourth time, we can call it a tradition. The Serbian delegation to CISM (International Military Sports Council) continues to achieve remarkable results year after year, strengthening cooperation between countries and armed forces, which is significant in both athletic and diplomatic sense – said Colonel Srđan Blagojević.

On this occasion, Colonel Blagojević presented special recognitions to those who contributed to the successful organization of the event. Slobodan Branković, Director of the Athletics Federation of Serbia, accepted the award on behalf of the Federation, while Lieutenant Colonel Elena Donkina accepted the recognition on behalf of the Russian delegation.



In her address, Lieutenant Colonel Donkina expressed her gratitude for the invitation to participate in the sporting event and highlighted the warm hospitality extended to her delegation during their visit to Serbia, as well as the friendly relations between the two nations, and the importance of continuing cooperation in the future.

The opening ceremony was attended by Colonel Alexander Tikhonov, Assistant Military Attaché of the Russian Federation to Serbia, Colonel Negovan Ivanković, Head of the Serbian Delegation to CISM, Military Academy Commandant’s collegium, and members of the Military Academy.



The first bilateral athletics meet was held in 2019 in Belgrade as part of a bilateral military sports cooperation initiative. The competition cycle continued in 2020 in Moscow and again in 2021 in Belgrade.