Amina Kajtaz – Mostar’s mermaid

Twenty-year-old Mostar local Amina Kajtaz began her career in none other than Velež, a club which makes the hearts of most Herzegovinians melt when mentioned. She was only six when coach Marina Balić began to introduce her to the world of swimmers.

“In my family, there is a lot of talk about sport, among other things, my parents are friends with people of a similar outlook on life, so my choice was logical. Mum enrolled my older sister Delila in swimming programs and we often cheered her on from the stands at competitions. As a very young girl, I felt the atmosphere at the pool and I already had a desire to be the best then”, starts Amina, a B&H swimmer with potential, who recently moved from Mostar to Zagreb solely due to the better conditions for training, where she became a member of the Croatian academic swimming club Mladost (Youth), which has two 50-metre pools and an excellent gym at its disposal, suiting her perfectly.

There are no barriers

Despite earlier having poor conditions for training, Amina always managed to progress and achieve good results. Therefore, it is no wonder that she was noticed abroad, receiving a few offers to switch clubs.

“However, with the very arrival to Zagreb I felt a nice kind of energy and the kindness of people, and the excellent conditions were crucial in making me decide to stay here. It is still closer to BiH.”

Velež in her heart

“I’m strongly bound to Velež and it’ll always be in my heart, wherever I am. The most wonderful things happened to me in that club. I met some of my friends there, and I’ll always remember the competitions and joyful moments we had together with fondness.”

Amina’s parents were also sportspeople, and the great stories of her mother, who was also a swimmer, left lasting impressions.

“She often told us about adventures from competitions, about socialising with swimmers from other cities; she would describe her feelings when climbing the podium and receiving medals… That’s how she transferred her great love of sport to my sister and me”, says Amina, whose role models in sport, as well as in life, are precisely her parents, mother Maja and father Sead.

Plans for the future

Despite the fact that Amina has been at many competitions, won numerous medals, participated at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, she has a favourite placement, and that is 6th place at the World Cup in Dubai, which she won lost year in the 100-metre butterfly. She expects more results in her new club, but also as a representative of BiH.

Russia, an interesting country

“Moscow is a destination I’d like to visit as a tourist. It probably sounds odd, because people mostly want to go to tropical regions. I like the culture of Russia, I’m attracted by the lavish, rich and grandiose buildings, because they seem authoritative and powerful.”

“I don’t really like to talk a lot about my plans publicly, because you can never know if you’ll achieve what you set out to. My ambitions are high. I’ve had a lot of success in swimming, but I want to achieve more than that”, says Amina, a student of Nutrition and Health at the University of Modern Sciences – CKM in Mostar, whereby in the future she would like to professionally connect the two dimensions of a healthy lifestyle – sport and nutrition.

“Caution when choosing good and diverse foods is my imperative, although sometimes I allow myself to break the rules. It’s hard to be perfect at all times and at everything (laughter)”, admits Amina, adding in conclusion: “Nowadays, the job of a nutritionist is highly sought out and it’s also where I see and wish to make a good career.”