SERBIAN HUNDRED YEARS IN THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT (1912-2012)

Abstract

The idea of the Olympic Games revival reached Serbia at the end of 19th century, and was realized by foundation of the Serbian Olympic Club (Committee) in 1910, which was subse- quently admitted to the International Olympic Committee - IOC (1912) in Stockholm during the 5th Olympic Games, where two athletes from the Kingdom of Serbia participated and captain Svetomir Đukić became the IOC member. He was IOC member until 1948.

The admission of the Serbian Olympic Committee to the International Olympic Commit- tee marked a new era in the development of Olympism in Serbia. The management structure of the Olympic movement underwent organizational changes according to the IOC structure, and Nikodije Stevanović became its President while captain Svetomir Đukić was elected di- rector.

Surely, the development of sport and Olympic movement in Serbia would have been even faster and more successful if the First Balkan War had not started only few months after the end of the Stockholm Olympic Games, and the entire management of the Serbian Olympic Committee had gone to war together with the Serbian athletes and the youth. It was followed by the Second Balkan War, so that almost an entire year passed at war.

At the beginning of 1914, in Belgrade, the Serbian Olympic Committee resumed organi- zation of great sports competitions, often called “Olympic matches” and the First Olympic Congress was scheduled for 8th September 1914. No one could forecast the great series of conflict, which soon encompassed the entire world. World War stopped further development of the world, as well as the Serbian Olympic Movement.

The creation of the new state - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, resulted in a ne- cessity to create a common Olympic movement. At the foundation Assembly of the Yugoslav Olympic Council in Zagreb, dr Franjo Bučar, was elected the President of the Yugoslav Olym- pic Board (YOB), while major Svetomir Đukić and dr Ć. Žižek were the Vice Presidents.

At the IOC Congress in Antverpen 18 August 1920, major Svetomir Đukić represented the Olympic Committee of Serbia and on that occasion the IOC recognized him as the del- egate of the Yugoslav Olympic Council. Thus Serbian Olympic Committee continued to work as Yugoslav Olympic Council, and since 1927 as the Yugoslav Olympic Committee. The same year the YOC seat was relocated from Zagreb to Belgrade.

After the end of the Second World War and the revival of the Olympic activities all over the world, prior to the 1948 London Olympic Games, the Yugoslav Olympic Committee restarted its activities within the FISAY, and in 1951 it become independent. The name of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee was kept until 3 April 2003 when in compliance with the changes within the state, was changed to the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro.

Upon the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro, the State Union of Serbia and Monte- negro ceased to exist and on 8th June 2006 the OCSCG changed its name into the Olympic Committee of Serbia.