History of the Olympic Committee of Serbia

The Olympic Committee of Serbia continues the tradition set by the foundation of the Serbian Olympic Club (SOC) on 23 February 1910. In 1911, the Serbian Olympic Club changed its name into the Central Federal Management or the Central Olympic Club, only to change it once again to the Serbian Olympic Committee, or the Olympic Committee of Serbia, as its seal read, on 17 July 1912.

The Serbian Olympic Committee was admitted to the International Olympic Committee on the IOC Congress held in Stockholm from 4 to 17 July 1912 (the exact date of the admission remains unknown, but it is generally believed to be 17 July).

The formation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes brought about the foundation of the Yugoslav Olympic Board in Zagreb on 14 December 1919 that was recognised as the natural successor to the Serbian Olympic Committee in the IOC and, therefore required no formal admittance. At the IOC Congress in Antwerp held on 18 August 1920, major Svetomir Đukić, in the capacity of the Olympic Committee of Serbia representative was thereby recognised by the IOC as a “delegate” of the Yugoslav Olympic Board. Thus, the Serbian Olympic Committee continued to function as the Yugoslav Olympic Board, becoming the Yugoslav Olympic Committee (YOC) in 1927. In the same year, the headquarters of the YOC were transferred from Zagreb to Belgrade.

Following the end of the Second World War and the revival of the Olympic activities worldwide, on the eve of the 1948 Games in London, the Yugoslav Olympic Committee renewed its function within the Association for Physical Education of Yugoslavia (FISAJ). The YOC became independent in 1951, retaining the name – the Yugoslav Olympic Committee – until 3 April 2003, when, in accordance with the changes in the country, it was changed into the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro. With the dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro was again renamed and claimed its original name of the Olympic Committee of Serbia on 8 June 2006.
 

MOK	International Olympic Committee
ANOC	Association of National Olympic Committees
EOC	European Olympic Committees
ICMG	International Committee of Mediterranean Games
ABNOC	Association of the Balkan National Olympic Committees
EFPM	European Fair Play Movement
ENGSO	European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation

Therefore, the Olympic Committee of Serbia continues the tradition of the Serbian Olympic Committee, the Yugoslav Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro, and its history records 21 participations at the Summer Olympic Games (all editions of the Summer Games since 1912) and 16 participations at the Winter Olympic Games (the Games held in Lake Placid in 1932 and Skuaw Valley in 1960 were missed due to the high costs, and the 1994 Games in Lillehammer due to the UN sanctions).

More than 1300 athletes of the Yugoslav Olympic Team participated at the Summer Olympic Games and 134 of them are gold, 172 silver and 102 bronze Olympic medallists.

A national total of 95 medals is won: 28 gold, 34 silver and 33 bronze.

More than 300 athletes of the Yugoslav Olympic Team participated at the Winter Olympic Games and won a total of 4 medals: 3 silver and 1 bronze.

During its history, the Olympic Committee of Serbia, i.e. the Serbian Olympic Committee, the Yugoslav Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro, produced six members of the IOC, had 19 presidents and six Secretaries General, whilst 17 athletes and sports workers were awarded the highest honour of the International Olympic Committee – ‘The Olympic Order’.

The Yugoslav Olympic Committee successfully hosted some the most prestigious competitions: the XIV Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo in 1984, the VIII Mediterranean Games in Split in 1979 and the World University Games in Zagreb in 1987.

The YOC announced Belgrade and Yugoslavia’s candidature to host the Summer Olympic Games three times.

The first one was to host the 1948 Olympic Games and it was initiated by the Yugoslav IOC members, general Svetomir Đukić and Dr Franjo Bučar in 1936, but due to the Second World War it was tacitly withdrawn.

The Yugoslav capital was twice official candidate for the organisation of the Games. Belgrade’s first actual candidature in 1986 was finished in the third round of voting, when the host of the XXV Games to be held in 1992 was elected. In the first round Belgrade had 13 votes, in the second 11, and in the last, when it was eliminated, five. Barcelona got the organisation of the Games.

It was then that the idea of Belgrade’s permanent candidature was adopted and the Yugoslav capital announced its candidature for the organization of the ‘Golden Games’ of 1996, the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. Other candidate cities were Athens, Atlanta, Toronto, Melbourne and Manchester, and Belgrade got eliminated in the first round, having received only 7 out of 86 votes of the IOC members. Atlanta was entrusted with the organisation of the Games. The idea of the permanent candidature of Belgrade was abandoned due to the sanctions of the Security Council of the United Nations against Yugoslavia.

The YOC organised thrice the passage of the Olympic flame through Yugoslavia – for the 1936 Games in Berlin, the 1972 Games in Munich, and, obviously, for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo.