SECOND BHM ATHLETICS CONFERENCE
7 September 2024
As part of this year's 74th BORIS HANŽEKOVIĆ MEMORIAL, the Second BHM Athletics Conference will be held on Saturday, 7 September 2024, starting at 12:00.
As the last year's First BHM Athletics Conference was a success, one of the world's best athletics meetings has decided to organize the conference this year again. Its primary objective is to educate and connect Croatian athletics and sports professionals and enthusiasts with the best ones from the world of athletics, i.e. sports. By organizing the conference, our desire is also to bring athletics closer to the general public and further promote it. Participation in the Second BHM Athletics Conference is free of charge this year, as well, with prior registration via the online form.
MISSION
The mission of the BHM Athletics Conference within the Boris Hanžeković Memorial is to bring together top athletics professionals and eminent figures from the world of athletics so that the participants can acquire new knowledge and skills and make new acquaintances that will help them in their professional careers.
VISION
The vision of the conference is to become a fundamental annual project within the Boris Hanžeković Memorial, so that, in addition to top athletics competition, Croatian and foreign sports professionals, as well as all those who want to make progress in the field of athletics, i.e. sports, could make the most of education and further training possibilities.
PROGRAMME:
- Panel "Sustainability and Legacy of Major Sporting Events"
The panel aims to show how major sporting events can contribute to sustainable development and environmental preservation and leave a positive social and economic legacy for future generations, ensuring long-term benefits for local communities. How do organizers of major sporting events and sports federations connect organization and legacy? To what extent does the Ministry of Tourism and Sport support sporting events that have continuity of duration and those that promote sustainability? How do sport and sports competitions change over the years from the perspective of an elite athlete, and now a coach? These are just some of the questions that our expert speakers will provide answers to. - Panel "Mental Health and Psychological Preparation of Athletes”
The panel aims to raise awareness, provide strategies for psychological preparation and prevention of burnout and experience sharing of the panellists with the audience, to timely recognize potential psychological problems in athletes. This panel will address the issues of how to deal with the ups and downs of sport, how elite athletes prepare for major international competitions, and how they deal with pressure and injuries. The coach's perspective will also be shown, that is, how coaches psychologically prepare their athletes and how they lift the team up after defeat and calm it down after success. A sports psychologist will round off the topic from the scientific point of view. - Lecture of a Top Athletics Coach
Kevin Young is a former world record holder in the 400m hurdles whose record stood for almost 30 years. The Olympic and world champion will talk about his rich sports career, about hurdlers’ training process, but also give an overview of the world records that have been set in this event in recent years. - Lecture of a Top Athletics Coach – Dylan Armstrong
The lecture of a top athletics coach will feature Dylan Armstrong, former shot putter, medallist at major international competitions, and now the coach of the reigning Olympic and world hammer throw champion Ethan Katzberg. What is the secret of the great increase in shot put results? What are the similarities and differences between the training programs of different throwing events? What have been the innovations in training in recent years? These are just some of the topics that will be touched upon.
SCHEDULE
12:00 INTRODUCTORY SPEECHES
12:10 - 12:55 PANEL "SUSTAINABILITY AND LEGACY OF MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS"
Guests:
- Josip Pavić, Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Croatia, State Secretary
- Jan Železny, javelin throw world record holder, three-time Olympic and world champion, coach
- Natko Bošnjak, Boris Hanžeković Memorial, Project Manager
- Primož Feguš, Slovenian Athletics Federation, President
Moderator: Marko Šapit, Croatian National TV, Sports Editor
12:55 – 13:40 PANEL “MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION OF ATHLETES”
Guests:
- Sergej Jakirović, Dinamo Football Club, Head Coach
- Ivana Španović, world and European long jump champion
- Filip Mihaljević, Croatian record holder, world and European championships medallist
- Vedrana Radić Brajnov, Psychologist, Chair of the Sports Psychology Department
Moderator: Robert Šola, Sportske Novosti daily sports newspaper, Editor-in-Chief
13:40 – 13:55 COFFEE BREAK
13:55 – 14:30 CONVERSATION WITH A WORLD RECORD HOLDER – KEVIN YOUNG
- Kevin Young, former world record holder in the 400m hurdles, Olympic and world champion, hurdle coach
Moderator: Hrvoje Slišković, Jutarnji List daily newspaper, journalist
14:30 – 15:05 LECTURE OF A TOP ATHLETICS COACH – DYLAN ARMSTRONG
- Dylan Armstrong, former shot putter, world silver medallist, Olympic bronze medallist, coach of Ethan Katzberg – the reigning Olympic and world hammer throw champion
Moderator: Hrvoje Slišković, Jutarnji List daily newspaper, journalist
First BHM Athletics Conference
As part of the 73rd Boris Hanžeković Memorial, the First BHM Athletics Conference was held in Zagreb, bringing together top athletics experts and well-known figures from the world of athletics. The conference program included two panels and one lecture.
At the first panel titled "The Benefits of Organizing Major Sporting Events," participants included the State Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Croatia, Josip Pavić; Jose Luis De Carlos from the European Athletics Federation; Boris Hanžeković Memorial project manager Natko Bošnjak; the President of the Organizing Committee of the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Slobodan Branković; and Professor Tomislav Globan from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb.
The panel emphasized that sports should not be viewed as an expense but as an investment in health, with the organization of major competitions seen as an opportunity: for tourism development, the construction of new infrastructure, attracting more children to sports, and generating positive economic impacts. To conclude the panel, Mr. Branković stressed that in organizing sporting events, there are no small or large countries, only those that are more or less valuable, a message that should apply to everything we do.
The second panel, titled "World Ranking System," introduced the new qualification system for major athletics competitions. Panel participants included Carlo de Angeli from the World Athletics Federation, Boris Hanžeković Memorial and top athletes' manager Alfons Juck, long jumper and co-founder of Jumpers World Agency Andreas Trajkovski, and Tevž Korent, coach of European indoor silver medalist in the 800 meters Anita Horvat and other Slovenian athletes. The positive and negative aspects of the system were discussed. Now, it is possible to compare different disciplines and determine who is the best athlete in a country or the world. There has also been increased interest from quality athletes to participate in meets, as well as a rise in the number of meets themselves.
An interesting and educational lecture was delivered by athletics coach John Coghlan. In a very engaging presentation, Coghlan highlighted the issue of starting intensive training too early with children, while also emphasizing the importance of an individualized approach to training. He used the example of his athletes, both hurdlers, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Nia Ali (one an Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo, the other a silver medalist in Rio), who train with entirely different programs and have never had a single joint training session, as they have different needs.