In Taranto, Italy, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova visited today the Mediterranean (Olympic) Village and met the Macedonian athletes participating in the 20th Mediterranean Games.
In her address to the participants, she pointed out that sport is more than a competition for results, it is a school for forming a strong character through taking responsibility and exercising perseverance. According to her, not only personal, but also collective and national identity is shaped and nurtured through sport.
Sports results and successes, she noted, strengthen the unity of young people, overcoming differences.
She believes that Taranto, as a sports arena these days, will be a place where our athletes have a chance to represent the country with dignity.
The President encouraged the contestants to believe in their own abilities and give their best, stressing that victory is most valuable when it is won in a fair fight.
Siljanovska-Davkova encouraged the Macedonian athletes on the big international stage to show the recognizable Macedonian sports strength, unconquerable and unbreakable fighting spirit.
The president believes that the Mediterranean Games enable promotion of real values through sports diplomacy.
The representatives of the Olympic Committee informed the President that this is the fourth participation of Macedonian athletes in the Mediterranean Games since independence, and she is the first head of state to attend them.
At the Games, the largest Macedonian delegation so far, consisting of 130 members, of which 88 are athletes, will compete in 19 sports disciplines, in individual and team sports.
Wishing them success in all competitions, Siljanovska-Davkova told them to believe in themselves and to manifest the Macedonian sports energy on the great Mediterranean sports scene in a chivalry manner.
