Underfunded Olympic hopefuls hustle for help to train and compete

As global sporting powers invest tens of millions of dollars in preparing their athletes for the Winter Olympics, competitors from smaller and less wealthy countries are often left to fend for themselves. 

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, chronic underfunding has forced Olympic hopefuls to rely on personal sacrifice, family support, and creative solutions as they chase qualification for this year's Winter Games in Italy.

Winter in Sarajevo has brought heavy snow and icy streets, highlighting the broader financial strains facing the country. Those same constraints extend into sport, where limited state funding leaves athletes struggling to cover basic training and competition costs. 

According to the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, institutional support has been virtually nonexistent. 

Said Fazlagić, Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina told CGTN: "Today, we are in January, and still money from the state level for last year is not distributed, believe it or not. So, we finish the entire year with zero money from the state level, but we'll have six athletes competing in the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina."

Each of those six athletes has followed a different path to stay competitive. One of them is alpine skier Marko Šljivić, considered among the country's top talents. While Šljivić competes abroad, his preparations are largely financed at home. His father, Željko Šljivić, described how the family has shouldered the burden.

He explained: "I am in the bees business, and I have 120 hives. And everything that I earned from honey went for Marko's skiing preparations. It was a lot of money. Also, Marko has been working for two and a half years with children from Hong Kong, and they have been financially helping him for over a year now."

In Nordic skiing, Strahinja Erić faces similar challenges. Training at the Jahorina ski resort near Sarajevo, he said the lack of structured financial support forces athletes to cut costs wherever possible.

"We compensate that in various ways. We go to the competitions and stay in private apartments where we cook ourselves, which is much cheaper than going to the hotels, and as a large representation who live on a high level", Erić explained.

More than three decades after the end of the civil war, Bosnia and Herzegovina's economy continues to struggle. Limited investment in sport is one consequence of that reality. 

Yet for many athletes, perseverance itself has become a form of victory. Through personal dedication, family sacrifice, and resilience, Bosnia's Olympic hopefuls are proving that reaching the Games can matter as much as medals themselves.