Sarajevo Reunion Brings Bosna’s Champion Generation Back to the Tatami

Judo Club Bosna’s former team champions were back together in Sarajevo during the Sarajevo European Open 2026, turning the event into something bigger than competition alone. Their annual July reunion once again celebrated the group that won the Yugoslav Team Championship in 1985, one of the defining results in the club’s history.

That same generation, with a slightly changed line-up, went on to take the Yugoslav Team Championship again in 1990. It was the last team championship of the former unified Yugoslavia, giving the achievement even more historical weight.

What stands out most is not only what they won, but how closely they have stayed connected. More than four decades later, the former athletes remain linked by friendships shaped through training, competition and shared years in judo.

Their reunion follows a familiar rhythm. The day starts with coffee at a local meeting place, then moves to the dojo, where they put on their judogi and take part in a symbolic training session together. Later, they sit down for dinner, revisiting stories and memories from the period when judo was at the centre of their daily lives.

This year, the gathering had a special setting. The group met at Hotel Hills in Sarajevo and was given the chance to train on the tatami prepared for the Sarajevo European Open 2026. After the afternoon session, the reunion continued at the hotel’s 11th-floor restaurant, overlooking the Bosnian capital.

More than 40 years later, the bond is still alive on the tatami.

The tradition also reaches beyond one club. As in previous years, guests from former rival teams joined the reunion, including Igor Antić, a former member of Judo Club Slavija from Novi Sad. Today, Antić lives and works in Paris as a sculptor.

The participant list reflected just how far life has taken this generation across Europe. Among those present were Senad Vranac, Jasmin Vranac and Srećko Ćulo from The Netherlands, Bruno Ditrih and Ljubo Livaja from Germany, Mladen Šošić from Switzerland and Neno Mirković from Austria. Their return to Sarajevo gave the meeting a distinctly European dimension, rooted in a shared judo past.

Head coach Branislav Crnogorac was also part of the reunion, alongside Nermin Ribica, Boro Petrović, Ibrahim Veljović, Suad Ćatić and Labud Vijišić. Mirković, who attended as well, had served as youth team coach of Judo Club Bosna during that period.

There were no medals at stake in this gathering, yet its meaning was clear. The reunion was another reminder that judo leaves more than results behind. For this Bosna generation, the sport built lasting connections that survived time, distance and completely different lives after competition.

Crnogorac’s well-known description of his former athletes captured that feeling simply: they are pearls scattered all over the world.

Sarajevo became a meeting point for memory, friendship and Judo history.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union