12^th April 2008
15^th THE CHILDREN’S SMOKI MARATHON
 

12 April 2008
15^th CHILDREN’S SMOKI MARATHON
Kalemegdan taken by storm
The 15^th Children’s Marathon held at the Belgrade Zoo

Stormy skies and drizzling rain threatened the participants of the 15^th Children’s Marathon since 11:00 (when the first qualification group started). The storm broke out at 12:30, luckily not from the above, but in the form of the super-final winner – Marko Olujić (translates as Stormy). This 6 ½ year old stormed the 230 metre long course in 38 seconds (4 seconds slower that the course record).

o How was it?
- It was great and I am so happy. I expected to win – said the capital’s fastest preschooler smilingly.
o When did you get in the lead?
- When some fell down.
o Do you train anything?
- Football, in “Fair play.”
Marko comes from kindergarten “Naša radost” (preschool institution “11. april”, Novi Beograd), and his teacher Milice Brajović’s tears of joy served as the best illustration of happiness that Marko had brought to his kindergarten.
- Marko is a bright boy, he is well-liked by his peers. His family supports him greatly. He was second at the Ušće cross and helped our kindergarten rank second in a competition of 28 kindergartens at the athletic tournament held at Hall of Sports in Novi Beograd – said Milica Brajović. – He scored twice at the football tournament organised by “Dušan Silni” and we won. We are preparing for the chess tournament and Marko is again in the team because he is so versatile... like a proper future pupil...
Mum Tatjana revealed that Marko comes from a sports family, as she used to kayak, and dad Slobodan was a footballer.
- When Marko’s four years older sister Nina said that she was going to leave tennis and take up volleyball, all he said was “Football is my life” – recalled mum Tatjana a family anecdote.
Aleksa Puletić (kindergarten “1001 radost”, preschool institution “Čika Jova Zmaj”, Voždovac) who was second also trains football but in club “Sinđelić.” His mum Slađana and sister Mina rooted for him.
- I love to run – said Aleksa. – I tried to be first, and I almost was.
Veljko Stalević who ranked third also expected victory.
- I train athletics at “11. april”, Slađa is my coach. My favourite is the 50m – said Veljko, member of the athletic club “Novi Beograd” and coached by Slađana Lajić, who competed this time in “jersey” of kindergarten “Duga” (preschool institution “Dr. Simo Milošević”, Zemun).
The positive energy of the event stopped the storm which arrived couple of hours later. Kids went to their homes dry, with prizes courtesy of “Štark” and medals as real winners that they are. It is not easy to be amongst 150 fastest children of 15,000 kids born in 2001 in Serbia’s capital.

Here are the winners of all 12 qualification groups:

1) Nikola Vidaković (kindergarten "Veseljko", Obrenovac) 42 sec
2) Nikolina Komadina ("Neven", Obrenovac) 42 sec
3) Marko Mitrić ("Neven", Voždovac") 43 sec
4) Anđela Plavšić ("Veverica", Galenika) 42 sec
5) Aleksa Puletić ("1.001 radost", Voždovac) 38 sec
6) Nevena Pajkić ("Kralj Petar I", Savski venac) 41 sec
7) Luka Prvulović ("Pčelica", Savski venac) 41 sec
8) Aleksa Ilić ("Lepa Vitas", Vračar) 39 sec
9) Dušan Mršavić ("Kockica", Palilula) 43 sec
10) Marko Olujić ("Naša radost", Novi Beograd) 40 sec
11) Aleksandar Antić ("Biser", Vračar) 41 sec (awarded title of “Super-snail” for winning the last place in the super-final)
12) Veljko Stalević ("Duga", Zemun) 41 sec

One of the indicators of the importance of involving children in sport at the earliest age was the VIP. As at the major sports competitions one could spot Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Minister for Youth and Sport, Svein Arne Hansen, the EAA vice-president, Zoran Alimpić, acting mayor of Belgrade, city officials in charge of sport, Andreja Mladenović and Goran Kreclović...
- There is no better way to introduce children to sport and health – said Snežana Samardžić-Marković.
Svein Arne Hansen decided to introduce this campaign, already supported by the EAA, to other countries.
- I have dealt with organisation my entire life and I can freely say that hardly ever everything functions perfectly like this event today. Everyone is smiling – noticed Hansen, director of Oslo’s “Bislett Games”, one of the IAAF Golden League meetings. – I spoke with Dejan Nikolić, director of the Belgrade Marathon, about the campaign “Let’s Start with Sport”. It does not allow children who have gone through such a rigorous competition to be left outside sport. That is why the EAA financially supports it. We will introduce the idea to other countries as well. I think that, when as 10 year olds they leave the programme, a lot of Norwegian children will face a dilemma whether to opt for athletics or skiing.
Andreja Mladenović, city sport official, proudly said that the original idea of the Children’s Marathon had been taken over by New York, Kenya and that it certainly deserved to be supported... He came with his two sons, three year old Dušan and six year old Lazar, who could have competed if he had been in the kindergarten system – no allowances even for the city minister for sport.

10 April 2008
THE CHILDREN’S MARATHON

Preschoolers from Serbian capital, 15,000 of them, completed qualifications for the 15th Children’s “Smoki” Marathon in their kindergartens, said Ljiljana Jovčić, City Secretary for Social and Children’s Welfare, at a press conference held today. On Saturday, between 11:00 and 12:00, 150 fastest children will run at the 230m long course which stretches around the elephant cage. Traditionally, they will be divided into 12 qualification groups. Group winners will run in the super-final.
Just after 12:30, the successor to the title of Belgrade’s fastest preschooler will be known. Last year, the title went to Ana Dejanović, the only girl ever to win the Children’s Marathon.
- This year it is easier for me to hold the trophy. I’ve shown it more to girls than to boys – said Ana in a short interview with the master of ceremonies, actor Boda Ninković, who remarked that it was probably better that way, as boys might dislike having “their nose rubbed in it.”
After the interview, a short “medical” conducted with a toy stethoscope concluded that Ana had a proper athlete’s heart, and Ana herself said that she would take up athletics.
- Ten marathons had to pass until we realised that no one continued to work with the city’s fastest children, children who possessed probably one of the most important athletic properties – speed. Then we got involved and now the third generation of the Children’s Marathon finalists that had continued to practise sport through the campaign “Let’s Start with Sport” finishes the programme – said Dejan Nikolić, director of the Belgrade Marathon.
That is how the little marathon, designed as an overture into the big marathon, became something far more serious – a gate to a healthy lifestyle and a workshop producing future champions (one of them is Serbian U21 footballer Slobodan Rajković, currently on loan from Chelsea to PSV Eindhoven till end of 2008). The little marathon grew organisationally as well. It took over its big brother’s title sponsor “Štark”, the company promoting its product “Smoki”. Marina Savić, the company’s PR, said:
- We are a nation talented for sport and all that is needed to achieve top results is some support.
Her counterpart from UNICEF Belgrade, Jadranka Milanović, emphasised that they had been cooperating with the Belgrade Marathon since 1995 and that all parties concerned were more that satisfied with the cooperation. The Belgrade Marathon Administrative Board Chairman Saša Đorđević is a UNICEF ambassador.
Vuk Bojović, director of the Belgrade Zoo, also pointed out the long-term cooperation with the Belgrade Marathon:
- The Children’s Marathon’s course did not run around the elephant cage only for the first three years. Then some people came and said that the course was no good, so there was no marathon at all here. Last year, Bob Beamon came and told us that the course was fantastic. Who’s to be believed? Probably, them. I got to know well the people who do this job and I know that they are very professional. That is not a good thing here, because if you are good at something, somebody will take your job away from you. They had the event taken away from them, then they got it back. I also almost had the job taken away from me. But now, all is well, new people came and we expect this to be one of the best Children’s Marathon ever...