After two weeks of voting on our European Athletics Facebook page, the winning artwork to be presented as the main prize to the Women’s Leadership Award winners at the Golden Tracks ceremony in Vilnius, Lithuania on 14 October has been chosen.
The quality of entries was very high and the winning entrant of this biannual contest was created by 17-year-old Binasa Memic from Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina whose artwork received more than 4000 likes on Facebook, as well as more than 1000 shares.
“As a student of the High School of Arts - and as an athlete myself where I'm the state champion in shot put in my age category - I feel especially grateful to win this reward. The director of my club, Vahida Kozic, suggested I should apply for this competition,” said Binasa.
The inspiration for her artwork is Ethiopian steeplechaser Etenesh Diro. Diro tripped and lost a shoe in the heats of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro last summer but despite running with a sizeable impediment - and in obvious discomfort - on a hot track, she encapsulated the Olympic spirit by finishing the event.
“Diro has inspired me greatly by continuing the race even after losing a running shoe,” said Binasa. “This kind of commitment showed me that giving up is not an option if there is at least a minimum possibility of moving on.”
Binasa Memic's drawing of Etenesh Diro has been voted as the winning artwork for the Women’s Leadership Awards in Vilnius on 14 October. pic.twitter.com/0oqWMspA37
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) September 4, 2017
The artwork will be professionally reproduced so that copies can be presented to the award winners at the Golden Tracks Awards Night and at national ceremonies in the following months.
The creator of the selected artwork will also receive a commission of 1,000 CHF, plus an iPad as a prize.
Background
The biennial European Athletics Women’s Leadership Awards was created in 2009 to recognise and celebrate women leaders in athletics.
Each of European Athletics’ 50 Member Federations is asked to identify one winner for her work and accomplishments as a coach, or volunteer, or administrator, or elected official - anything other than for success in competition. The main criterion is “a significant contribution that serves as an example of leadership and other values of the sport of athletics”.
For more information on the European Athletics Women’s Leadership Awards and the artwork prize competition, please click here or contact Marc Sintes at [email protected].