Mirza NIKOLAJEV

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luge

Date of Birth: 22 Oct 2001

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Place of birth: SARAJEVO

Birth Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Residence: SARAJEVO

Residence Country:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Luge	Men's Singles	34

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Group A Run 1	Finished
After Run 1	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Group A Run 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Group A Run 3	Finished
After Run 3	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Group A Run 4	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Run 5	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Training Run 6	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Run 1	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Run 2	Finished
	Yanqing National Sliding Centre	Men's Singles Run 3	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
33	Men's Singles	2021	Koenigssee, GER	51.019

Junior World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
15	Men's Singles	2020	Oberhof, GER	1:31.882
19	Men's Singles	2019	Innsbruck, AUT	1:44.235

U23 World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
12	Men's Singles	2021	Koenigssee, GER	51.019

World Cup Rankings
Season	Men's Singles
2021/22	45
2020/21	34
2019/20	51
2018/19	54

Hobbies:

Photography, travelling, swimming, skiing, basketball, climbing

Occupation:

Athlete, Student

Family:

Father, Denis. Mother, Amina. Brother, Faris.

Languages spoken:

Bosnian, English

Coach:

National: Senad Omanovic (BIH)

Debut:

2018 Nations Cup in Innsbruck (Singles - 35th)
2020 World Cup in Altenberg (Singles - 32nd)

Start:

Began in 2015 after seeing a clip of the sport on a local news program. (sportsport.ba, 2 Mar 2021; bbc.com, 23 Sep 2017)

Reason:

Enjoys luge because of the "dynamism of the sport and the adrenaline that it provides." (sportsport.ba, 2 Mar 2021)

Ambition:

To be one of the top-10 luge athletes in the world, compete at five Olympic Winter Games, and record the best result in national history. (sportsport.ba, 2 March 2021; klix.ba, 21 Feb 2021)

Training:

Due to limited funding, the Bosnian team only trains abroad during the winter on official training weeks. In summer, the squad puts wheels on their sleds to train outside on the derelict sliding track from the Sarajevo 1984 Olympic Winter Games, a trail now also used by pedestrians and mountain bikers. The team maintains a portion of the track they use for training by laying fresh concrete each spring and cleaning up rubbish. "Our trainings are limited, practically impossible regardless of our efforts." (furaj.ba; visitbh.ba, 23 March 2021; sportsport.ba, 2 March 2021; bbc.com, 23 Sep 2017; radiosarajevo.ba, 22 Dec 2020; ederalna.ba, 13 Feb 2021)

Memorable:

His highest World Cup placing, 27th at Innsbruck in the final event of the 2020/21 season. (sportsport.ba, 2 March 2021)

Ritual:

"I don't have a pre-workout or race ritual. I just try to be as focused as possible." (sportsport.ba, 2 March 2021)

General Interest

LACK OF SUPPORT
With only a small stipend from the Government of Sarajevo, results-based earnings from the International Luge Federation and an Olympic Scholarship, money is so tight that coach Senad Omanovic does not travel with the team to competitions and instead relays instructions by phone. Omanovic says, "We would participate in every Olympic Winter Games if we had the support of the state." (sport.avaz.ba, 5 Dec 2020; visitbh.ba, 23 March 2021; federalna.ba, 13 Feb 2021; klix.ba, 21 Feb 2021; aljazeera.net, 30 Jan 2020)

OUTPOURING OF FUNDS
For the past five years, Nikolajev has competed using a secondhand, 12-year-old sled. The sled, which has had not one, but two previous owners, is made of fibreglass instead of using a newer material like carbon fibre or Kevlar. Inspired by his story on social media, people around the world contributed to a fund towards the cost of a new sled (around $20,000).

Although new for him, it will likely still be secondhand since the carpenters for the powerhouse nations will not want to help a competitor. He hopes to have a new sled for the 2021/22 season but cautions that his results might not improve immediately. "After driving a [Volkswagen] Golf 2 for five years, when you buy a Golf 7, a sports model, it is normal that it takes time to get used to something faster, something much more modern." (nezavisne.com, 29 Dec 2020; klix.ba, 21 Feb 2021; aa.com.tr, 21 March 2021; visitbh.ba, 23 March 2021)

Milestones

Competed in nine World Cup races in 2020/21, as a junior, achieving a 34th place finish in the overall season standings for his first full season.

Recorded two top-10 junior finishes during the 2019/20 season, after finishing seventh at the Junior World Cup in Altenberg and eighth at the 2020 Junior European Championships in Winterberg.

Social Media

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos