On Monday night, August 12, Serbia hosted a spectacular celebration for its triumphant athletes, who brought home five medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The atmosphere was electric as the greatest tennis player of all time, Novak Djoković, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, and other Serbian sports stars were welcomed by a massive crowd of proud Belgrade citizens in the city center.
Welcome in Front of the City Assembly
Serbs have a long-standing tradition of celebrating their victorious athletes in front of the City Assembly in Belgrade. After meeting with President Aleksandar Vučić in his office, the Paris Olympics medalists stepped onto the balcony to greet an ecstatic crowd of 50,000 people.
On this iconic balcony, citizens witnessed the triumphant homecoming of basketball players, shooters Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec, taekwondo star Aleksandra Perišić, the Serbian water polo team, and tennis legend Novak Djokovic.
Live performances on the balcony included Danica Crnogorčević’s “Veseli se, srpski rode” and THCF’s “Igraj i pobedi,” along with a performance by a brass band.
Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics: A Medal Recap
Serbia collected five medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics—three gold, one silver, and one bronze—placing the country 27th in the overall medal standings.
Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec – Shooting 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team (Gold Medal)
Zorana Arunović and Damir Mikec were the first athletes to bring home a medal for Serbia at the Summer Games, capturing gold in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event. Their victory was nothing short of dramatic, as they staged a remarkable comeback from an 8-2 deficit to triumph 16-14 over Turkey’s Yusuf Dikeç, popular for his laid-back shooting style, and Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.
Novak Djoković – Men’s Singles Tennis (Gold Medal)
Tennis star Novak Djoković delivered a spectacular gold medal performance in men’s singles, finally adding the one accolade missing from his illustrious career at the age of 37. With a record 72 Big Titles—comprising 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 7 year-end championships, and 40 ATP Masters titles—Djoković now proudly holds an Olympic gold medal as well. He achieved a career Golden Slam by narrowly defeating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in a thrilling final at Roland Garros’ Court Philippe-Chatrier, where every point was hard-fought and no serves were broken throughout the match.
Following this historic achievement by a player widely considered not only the greatest tennis player but also the greatest athlete of all time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that a Novak Djoković Museum will be established in Belgrade in the coming years.
Aleksandra Perišić – Taekwondo (Silver Medal)
In the women’s taekwondo welterweight (-67kg) division, 22-year-old Aleksandra Perišić from Belgrade captured the silver medal. Perišić showed remarkable resilience in the round of 16, staging a comeback to defeat Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova. She then cruised through the quarterfinals with a straight-sets victory over Thailand’s Sasikarn Tongchan, and in the semifinals, she dominated China’s Song Jie. In the final at the Grand Palais, Perišić was ultimately outmatched by Hungarian teenager Viviana Marton, falling 7-1, 4-2.
Perišić won Serbia’s fifth Olympic medal in taekwondo—Milica Mandić claimed gold at the 2012 and 2016 Games, while Tijana Bogdanović took silver in 2016 and bronze in 2020.
Basketball (Bronze Medal)
The Serbian basketball team made headlines at the Paris Olympics with their remarkable play and unbreakable team spirit. Led by coach Svetislav Pešić, and powered by stars like Nikola Jokić, Bogdan Bogdanović, Vasilije Micić, Filip Petrušev, and Aleksa Avramović, Serbia pulled off the greatest comeback in Olympic basketball history by erasing a 24-point deficit against Australia in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Serbia built a double-digit lead against Team USA, but a late-game surge by the Americans resulted in a heartbreaking defeat. Despite the loss, this game will be remembered as arguably the greatest basketball match ever played.
In the bronze medal match, Serbia secured a hard-fought 93-83 victory over Germany, winning a medal that, while bronze, carries the weight of gold in the hearts of the Serbian people. The players celebrated their success with pride, leaving behind the heartbreak of the loss to the Americans and embracing their well-deserved achievement.
Water polo (Gold Medal)
On the final day of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Serbian water polo team triumphed over Croatia 13-11 in a thrilling clash of the titans to claim the gold medal. With this win, Serbia secured its third consecutive Olympic gold in water polo, proving that the new generation of players is just as formidable as their legendary predecessors. Remarkably, the team in Paris featured seven debutantes, underscoring the strength and depth of Serbia’s water polo legacy.
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