CROWN PRINCE EXTENDS CONDOLENCES TO GIGOVIC FAMILY AND CONGRATULATES LATEST MEDAL WINNERS

Belgrade, 30 July 2007 – HRH Crown Prince Alexander II extended his congratulations to latest medal winners for Serbia – the youth male volleyball team for becoming Balkan Champion, to the youth male basketball team for becoming the Champion of Europe and to the judo players who brought home medals from the Balkan Senior Championship. However, these great events were shadowed by the sad news of the death of volleyball player Aleksandar Gigovic, to whose family the Crown Prince expressed deepest condolences.

The Crown Prince was very glad that Serbian youth volleyball players have become the Balkan champions and have also won 3 individual awards, including the MVP award for Nikola Vasic. However, the great news of the latest medals have been shadowed by the tragic news, that 24 year old Aleksandar Gigovic, a volleyball player from Radnicki, Kragujevac and member of the University volleyball team of Serbia, has suddenly died on Saturday in Ivanjica.

In his letter to the president of the Volleyball Association of Serbia, the Crown Prince emphasized: “It was with great sadness that my family and I received news of the death of Aleksandar Gigovic, member of our University National Team. This is a great loss for volleyball and a tragic loss of a young life. My family and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of this young sportsman. Destiny did not give him the opportrunity to enjoy with all of us the winning of yet another gold medal for Serbia, which has become the new Balkan champion thanks to his colleagues, the youth volleyball players. In life, the sad news and the good news can happen at the same time, and so my family and I extend our congratulations to the youth volleyball players and wish them much more success in the future”.

The Serbian youth have managed to win the title of European Champions in basketball, in the European Championship for Men (U 16). In his letter of congratulations, the Crown Prince emphasized, among other things: “I truly admire the effort and the results achieved by our youth basketball team. My family and I are glad that our basketball seems to be returning to the days of its old glory, this time with the young generation. Please extend our best wishes to these sportsmen and wish them many more medals in the future.”

The judo team of Serbia has triumphed at the Balkan Senior Championship - the women became Balkan champions, while the men got second place, right after Romania. The women brought home four gold and two bronze medals. The men brought home three gold medals, while the Romanian judokashad only one silver medal more than the Serbian team. The Crown Prince also extended his congratulations to the judo men and women of Serbia and wished them more success in the future.