Bosnian Stubbornness: Tuka – the swallow that heralds a sporting spring in BiH

Amel Tuka ran for his soul, and delighted the souls of all BiH citizens, and little could have made them happy in 2015, writes the Patria news agency.

Athlete Amel Tuka, the fastest man in the world over 800 meters this year and a bronze medalist at the World Championships in Beijing, is the best athlete of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2015, and as fast as he runs, he entered the hearts of those who love this country with that speed, wherever they may be.

Words are too small to describe the feeling and emotion as Tuka prostrates himself in prayer while winning the Diamond League and entering the history of athletics...

Besides his brilliant sports results in the past year, Tuka is proof that Bosnian stubbornness knows no "I can't", because Amel showed that when you want something, you can achieve anything... You can achieve it despite the authorities' neglect of sports and athletes, despite difficult conditions, you can achieve it when you want to, and then for the effort, for every drop of sweat, there comes a reward... Some will say he is an individual, and one swallow does not make a spring, but it certainly heralds it.   

And Tuka showed that he is the swallow in BiH that brings spring and medals. The human side of the modest Tuka left few indifferent. In Madrid, Tuka, in front of the cameras of the whole world, turned his bib number on which he had previously written "Never forget Srebrenica", or "Nikad ne zaboravi Srebrenicu."

A great gesture that Tuka described as "a small thing he could do", and even after Monte Carlo, all the world's media mentioned his message for Srebrenica again.

My father fought for BiH, he was ready to give his life so that we could have a better life. I remember when I was little, I used to sit with my sister and mother, my father wasn't there, we didn't know if he would come back... That attitude of his was passed on to me, to love my country, to fight for it, to represent it as best as I can – Tuka explained to world journalists.

And we have no doubt that younger generations are now looking up to Tuka, and that his father is proud of what he has done for his homeland and for Amel, because what would Bosnia be without Amel and his father...