BEHIND LANA'S BRONZE LIES A HUMAN STORY: How a Lebanese man enabled Bosnians to cheer for Pudar to a medal!

(Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's best swimmer Lana Pudar won a bronze medal on 15 February in the 200-metre butterfly race at the World Championships in Doha.

Pudar swam the distance in the final in a time of 2:07.92, which was enough for a bronze medal, the first for our country at world senior championships.

However, the story of Lana's success also has a background, a human one, for which medals are not awarded, but which makes us Bosnians and Herzegovinians what we are, wherever we are. But in this story, a Lebanese man also played a major role in creating support for our Lana.



Alem Genjac, a Bosnian living in Doha, posted a story on his Facebook account revealing how Lana Pudar received great support at the pool in Doha, all thanks to a Lebanese man with a good heart.

“A few days after Lana Pudar won the medal, I am still emotional and thinking about how it would have been without the audience. The audience is someone who leads competitors to victory and makes them alive. That's how we felt alive on that bronze day. I have to move on to the story of how we got a brother in two days. Never a faster birth, hehe. Namely, I went to the qualification race with my wife and a couple of friends to watch Lana in the qualifiers. While waiting to buy tickets via the app, my phone blocked and I, nervous, grumbled about how we would be late and miss the race that lasts just over two minutes. We spotted a man and asked him if he was selling tickets, and he said he had some for us and that we didn't have to pay. We took 3 tickets and entered. After the race ended, I found him and thanked him, and he said to me: do you need any for the semifinal? And I, a little surprised, said yes. Abbass asked me how many, 10, 20, 50? A little cheekily, I counted how many of us might come and said 60, and he replied, agreed. The only thing was that the tickets could only be picked up just before the race. I confirmed the attendance and informed part of our community in Doha that we had 60 tickets, without thinking about the risk, Genjac recounts the incredible chain of events.

Genjac with Lana Pudar (Photo: Facebook)

As he says, promising tickets to people even though he had seen the man for the first time.

“What if he doesn't come, I'll be embarrassed, heheh. I think, surely the man is honest, even though I've been cheated a thousand times, and this foreigner is still going through my mind. What would make him different from other scammers? Anyway, we came to the pool and Abbass greeted us with tickets. A weight was lifted from my heart. In a large group, a completely different atmosphere at the pool. Usually, attendance at the pools is very low. Great support for Lana and entry into the final. Upon leaving, I thanked Abbass again for who knows how many times, and he offered me tickets for the final as well. And now, wonders, we get twice as many tickets. A true gift from a small man, he could have offered them to someone else, I think,” Genjac states.

And then came the moment of truth.

“Finally the final and joy among all of us. I look at our fans and playful children and think how eerie it would be without us at the pool. We just need the medal now, I think to myself. Everyone is secretly praying, and when that's the case, then God makes it happen. We cheer, as if at a football match, Lana to a bronze of golden shine. Never greater pride among us Bosnians, full of ourselves as we are. What do we need the rest of the world for, we have Lana, bronze with a golden shine. Of course, we inform Abbass about the won medal and take pictures. And so we got a Lebanese man as a brother. Thank you, Abbass,” Genjac states at the end of the story about the great deed of a Lebanese man, the happiness of BH fans, and the success of Lana Pudar.

Good people connect easily, and when that is the case, medals must come.