Jelen FRANJIC

FATHER
Mario Franjic, having represented Yugoslavia at its home Olympic Winter Games in 1984, fled Sarajevo for a weekend escape with his new bride in 1992 as tensions simmered in the capital on the eve of war. They were unable to return home after the shelling began, instead trying to start a new life in Igalo, a seaside town on the Bay of Kotor - but they were not safe there. Mario, a Bosnian Croat, was arrested at a police checkpoint and put on a bus with prisoners and six Serbian army recruits being transported to Belgrade. A bobsleigh mechanic Mario knew followed the convoy for 12 hours, eventually convincing the soldiers to release him with the Serbians. "The rest of the people on that bus are all gone," Mario said.

He never returned to his homeland, and instead sought asylum in the Netherlands, where his two sons were born. In 1998, Mario was unable to qualify for his second Olympic Winter Games in a Dutch sled, but was offered the opportunity to represent the newly-formed nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, carrying its flag at the Opening Ceremony. (teamnl.org, 13 Dec 2021; nos.nl, 22 Nov 2021; nporadio1.nl, 30 Dec 2021; bndestem.nl, 13 Feb 2022)

BROTHER'S HAMSTRING INJURY
"It is mentally very hard to see your brother get seriously injured. First, it's your brother, and if he's hurting, then I'm hurting too. But mainly because I know what this means for us together. I also know how much he sacrificed and struggled to get to where he is today.” (teamnl.org, 13 Dec 2021)

© Data by Sports Data Warehouse

He will be the youngest Dutch athlete to compete in bobsleigh at an Olympic Winter Games, surpassing Vincent Kortbeek, who competed in 2006 at 23 years, 97 days.

Two top-15 results in the four-man in 2021/22, his first full season on the World Cup circuit, finishing 11th in both races (Innsbruck, Winterberg).