The ceremonial awards presentation honouring the best and most successful athletes and national teams of Montenegro for 2025, organised by the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, was held today at Villa Gorica.
The Montenegrin Olympic Committee brought together athletes, representatives of sports federations, institutions and the Olympic family, as well as numerous high-ranking state officials and members of the diplomatic corps, to reflect on a year marked by notable international results and the continued continuity of elite sport.
Based on the decision of the Management Board of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, from a total of 15 nominated male and female candidates, the award for the Best Female Athlete of Montenegro in 2025 was presented to taekwondo athlete Andrea Berišaj. At the same time, the COK Management Board confirmed the decision of the Commission for the Selection of the Best Young Athletes and National Teams, which announced the award recipients in the remaining categories.
President of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, Dušan Simonović, emphasised that the achieved results also carry additional responsibility, underlining the need for a long-term and systematic approach to sports development: “Such results further oblige us to remain firm in our commitment to ensuring that athletes are always at the centre of our actions. It is our responsibility not to view success merely as a reason for celebration, but as an obligation to build a stronger, fairer and more sustainable sports system, in which every talent will have the opportunity to realise their full potential and represent Montenegro with dignity on the international sporting stage. This implies systemic support, clear criteria, investment in knowledge, health and athlete safety, as well as care for their development during and after their sporting careers.”
This year’s awards ceremony was also an opportunity to highlight the importance of the state’s role in creating a stable sporting framework. The Minister of Sports and Youth, Dragoslav Šćekić, stated that improving conditions for athletes is one of the priorities of the ministry he leads: “The Ministry of Sports and Youth is dedicated to improving conditions for your carefree sporting and personal development. The state is exceptionally committed to our youth, your progress, your sporting careers and results, and from here today I can tell you that we will, through maximum effort, continue to create conditions, and I invite you to justify those conditions through your commitment and, in the future, represent yourselves, your home club and the state in an even more impressive manner.”
In his address, President Jakov Milatović spoke to Montenegrin female and male athletes, emphasising that “events such as this are more than ordinary ceremonies; they are an expression of gratitude and respect towards those who achieved the greatest successes in 2025. At the same time, they send a strong message to young people that sport is a school of life, a foundation for healthy development, and a space in which work ethic, responsibility and team spirit are acquired.”
“The success of Montenegrin athletes is not only a reason for celebration, but an obligation of the state and the system to provide them with security, continuity and fair conditions. Sport is not built on the emotion of a single moment, but on responsibility towards future generations,” Simonović additionally emphasised.
The Montenegrin Olympic Committee recalled that all award recipients were selected in accordance with clearly defined criteria and the Rulebook, with evaluation based exclusively on results achieved at official international competitions, with particular emphasis on Olympic sports.
This year, the Montenegrin Olympic Committee selected the best among the best for the 17th time. To date, the prestigious Athlete of the Year award has been presented to competitors from seven sports: judo, handball, water polo, karate, boxing, athletics and sailing. This year, the trophy collection was expanded to include another sport — taekwondo — thanks to Andrea Berišaj, who recently achieved an outstanding result by winning a bronze medal at the European Championship.
Alongside Berišaj, this year’s Athlete of the Year, other distinguished athletes and teams were also honoured at the ceremony. The Montenegro Women’s Senior Handball National Team was named the Best Women’s National Team for the 14th time, while the Montenegro Men’s Senior Water Polo National Team received the award for the Best Men’s National Team.
The award for the Best Young Female Athlete was presented to Martina Knežević, a handball player for Budućnost and the cadet national team, who won a bronze medal with the “Little Lionesses” at this summer’s European Cadet Championship in Podgorica and was named the best handball player of the tournament.
Awards for the Best Young Male Athletes were presented to water polo player Strahinja Gojković — the best player of the European Junior Championship, at which Montenegro’s “Young Sharks” won gold medals — and boxer Matija Roganović, European junior champion and the best boxer at the recent championship in Germany.
