26.05.2024.
25th Zoran Radosavljević Memorial Regatta held
The 25th Memorial Regatta dedicated to Zoran Radosavljević was held this weekend with the support of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces on the Sava River and in the winter harbor in Bežanija, Belgrade.
The event is traditionally held every year in memory of Major Pilot Zoran Radosavljević, a passionate sailor and member of the Yugoslav Army’s elite 127th Fighter Squadron, who heroically died defending the homeland during the NATO aggression in 1999.This year’s regatta brought together numerous competitors, members of the Serbian Sailing Association, and numerous friends who keep alive the memory of the Serbian hero.
The OPTIMIST class, consisting of the youngest sailors under the age of 14, competed in the winter harbour in Bežanija, while more experienced sailors belonging to the ILCA4, ILCA6, "micro" and "cruiser" classes competed on the Sava River, on the stretch between Ada Međica and the New Railway Bridge.This year’s winner in the OPTIMIST class is Veljko Simonović from the Sailing Club Palilula. Miloš Dobrosavljević from the Sailing Club Ada was the best in the “cruiser” class, while the first place in the “micro” class was taken by Tihomir Zakić from the Academic Sailing Club Beograd. The first place in ILCA4 class was won by Mina Zei from the Academic Sailing Club Beograd, and the first place in ILCA6 class went to Relja Milovanović from the Sailing Club Gemax.
According to Snežana Radosavljević Mažibrada, Major Zoran Radosavljević’s sister, this regatta is very important and is one of the most beautiful ways to honour him, because the event is characterized by positive energy and an interesting fact, namely "optimist" class sailors, who in previous years competed as seven-year-olds, are now adults and sailing in higher categories.- This regatta has been organized for two and a half decades, becoming a traditional event and we will continue organizing it. I would like to thank all the participants, the sailors, who come from all over the country to honour Zoran, bringing phenomenal energy to Belgrade every year - emphasized Major Zoran Radosavljević’s sister.
One of the participants, Aleksandar Jovanović, says that it is a great honour for him to sail today, for the 15th time, in “Zoki’s Regatta", dedicated to a man who combined his love of the homeland and sailing, symbolically linking the two branches of our armed forces - river units and air force.
- Sailing in "Zoki's Regatta" gives us a better feeling than any other experience or sailing in any other regatta because we know in whose memory we are sailing. This is a recreational and memorial regatta, but sportsmanship is always demonstrated - emphasized the multiple champion of this memorial competition.The first “Zoki’s Regatta" was held on the Montenegrin coast in Herceg Novi in 1999, at the initiative of Major Zoran Radosavljević’s friend, who shared his passion for sailing. Since 2007, the regatta has been held in Belgrade.
