Dubai: UAE resident Velimir Stjepanovic picked up a bronze medal in the 100 metres butterfly late on Tuesday at the ongoing Youth Olympic Games (YOG) being held in Singapore.
"I am so happy with what I have achieved. I hope this medal will only add up to my confidence as I participate in the other events during the competition," Stjepanovic told Gulf News from Singapore yesterday.
The Serbian, who turned 17 earlier this month, had promised himself a late birthday present of a medal prior to his departure to the YOG in Singapore.
"I am happy I have been able to live up to my expectations. The standard of swimming has been quite high at the Youth Olympic Games and I am pleased with the way I swam," he added.
Education and culture
Young athletes — aged between 14 and 18 — are competing in 26 sports disciplines while also taking part in the Culture and Education Programme during the course of the 12 days of the Games that conclude on August 26.
Stjepanovic, who was also the flag-bearer for Serbia at the opening ceremony, finished in a time of 53.77 seconds behind gold medallist Gyucheol Chang of South Korea (53.13 secs) and South African Chad Le Clos (53.31) at the Singapore Sports School on Tuesday.
"At first I could not see the scoreboard clearly from the pool. But when I saw I had finished third, I was so overwhelmed that I was picking up my first medal at such an important international competition," Stjepanovic said.
"I feel pleased with my performance because I was up against older swimmers. I am sure this will add on to my confidence as I continue at the Youth Olympics," he added.
The Serbian teenager will next be swimming in the 100 metres freestyle and the 200 metres Butterfly with both finals being held on Friday. "I can walk away with this one bronze medal knowing well that I have achieved what I wanted to. But I will continue knowing well that I can still win more medals," Stjepanovic said.
His coach Chris Tidey, who operates from the GEMS Academy in Dubai, is also confident on his student's abilities.
