14.05.2025.
Military Academy Pentathlon Championship - “Aleksa Dragaš Memorial” opened
The Military Academy Pentathlon Championship - “Aleksa Dragaš Memorial” was officially opened today at the General Jovan Mišković Barracks in Belgrade.
Cadets and military school students, as well as members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces – friends of Aleksa Dragaš, a top athlete who died in 2022, will compete today and tomorrow in five events: 50 m freestyle swimming race, assault rifle shooting competition (simulation), infantry obstacle course race, grenade throwing at a target and at distance, and 4000 m cross country race.At the beginning of his opening speech, the Commandant of the Military Academy, Colonel Srđan Blagojević, Ph.D., warmly greeted Aleksa’s family and friends, and emphasized that “pentathlon is a true military sport that requires extremely capable and versatile athletes ready to achieve top results in various sport disciplines”.
- It takes a lot of sacrifice, because competing in top-level military pentathlon involves pushing yourself to the ultimate limit of human endurance. This is exactly the sport that Aleksa Dragaš found interest in, leaving an indelible mark on the Military Academy - said Colonel Blagojević and added that, in memory of the sporting success he achieved as a cadet competing for the Military Academy and the Serbian Armed Forces, this military educational institution decided to dedicate a military pentathlon championship to the deceased athlete and all other military athletes.Organizing this sporting event, he said, is very important for members of the Military Academy because it is a bond between former, present and future athletes competing in this contest.
- Wherever these versatile military athletes step with their boots, wherever their military careers take them, they make one family, and the bonds between them are forged through chivalrous virtues that both a soldier and an athlete should have. These are moral fortitude, courage, dignity, dedication and determination. All these virtues contribute to building a collective fighting spirit and are equally valuable, both on the sports field and on the battlefield - said Colonel Blagojević, wishing the competitors the best of luck and expressing hope that the best among them wins.The contest began with a 50 m freestyle race, and later today, automatic rifle shooting competition and infantry obstacle course race will be held.
The grenade throwing competition and 4000 m cross country race are scheduled for tomorrow, after which the best athletes will be announced and the awards ceremony held.The best competitors will be selected as members of the Serbian Military National Team, which will compete in international competitions in the coming period.
Aleksa Dragaš was born in Zrenjanin in 1994. He finished the Grammar School in Zrenjanin and graduated from the Belgrade Military Academy as part of the 138th Class. He played several sports, and grew particularly fond of military pentathlon. He became a member of the national team of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces in 2016. In 2017, on the Epiphany, he recovered the Holy Cross from Ada Ciganlija Lake. Upon graduation from the Military Academy he worked at the Training Command’s NCO Training Centre. He died in 2022 following a severe illness.
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