Mina Ilić didn’t need a perfect system to build something real. She needed skis, a dream, and thestubbornness to keep going when nobody was watching. From representing Serbia on the international stage to mentoring her sister Anja all the way to the 2026 Winter Olympics, and now she is setting her sights on the presidency of the Biathlon Federation of Serbia, this is a woman who has never waited for permission. We sat down with her to find out what drives her.
Growing Up in a World She Built Herself
You competed internationally for Serbia in cross-country skiing, a country not exactly known for winter sports. What did that actually feel like from the inside? Was it lonely?
We didn’t really think about it much. We created our own little world, one that revolved around Nordic skiing, and we didn’t pay much attention to anything outside of it. That world was full of fun, friendship, laughter, and of course, skiing. I look back on that period with a lot of warmth. When we stepped onto the international scene, there was a little fear, but mostly pride, because we were representing our country. And there’s actually an advantage to skiing in a country where the sport isn’t developed: even if you’re not the most talented, you can still make it to the international stage.
Building a career in a sport with almost no national infrastructure, limited funding, and few role models, did that make you tougher? Or did it cost you something?
I’d draw a parallel with basketball here. We trained the way you’d imagine someone whose grandfather built the backboard, whose grandmother stitched the net, and whose hoop came from a dumpster. I’ll let you in on a secret, our biggest problem when we went international was the groomed ski tracks. We simply didn’t know how to ski on them. But what didn’t kill us made us stronger. I’m genuinely proud that we’ve now created better conditions for younger athletes. Far from ideal, but we’re working on it.
Athletes are trained to push through doubt, pain, and failure. But nobody trains you for the day you stop competing. What was that transition like for you, honestly?
In my case, it wasn’t particularly hard. I always knew, and others could see it too, that I was better at giving orders than taking them. I’m joking, of course. I used that period to focus completely on my studies. Looking back, stepping away was the right decision. And returning later, in a different role, made me stronger.
“What didn’t kill us made us stronger — and now we’re building something better for the ones coming after us.”
Three from the Same House, One Olympic Dream
Your sister Anja just competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. You’ve been part of her journey as both a mentor and a sister. How do you separate those two roles, or do you?
Our journey to the Games was truly exciting and full of challenges. I believe that if we hadn’t been so deeply connected, we wouldn’t have achieved what we did. I do separate the roles, at home it’s one relationship, and at training it’s a completely different one. Anja calls the shots at home, and I call them at training, so we found our balance. We agreed on that from the very beginning and respected it fully. Was it easy? No. The hardest part was guiding her career and making decisions that would directly affect her life. Every time she cried, it hurt me too. But what matters most is that in the end, we achieved every single goal we set.
Hand on heart, watching Anja reach an Olympic start that your own career didn’t get to include, was that complicated for you? Or does mentorship genuinely erase that kind of personal longing?
Longing? Not at all. I was so proud of her that I could have flown. Seeing your own sister living her dream is the most beautiful feeling in the world. I felt honoured to be part of that story and to know that I played some role in helping her get there. And imagine the pride, three people from the same household at the Winter Olympics: my brother-in-law competing for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the two of us for Serbia.
What’s the most important thing you passed on to her, not as a coach, but as someone who had already lived through the hardest parts of being a Serbian winter athlete?
The most important thing is to dream your own dream and believe in it. Visualise it. Every dream I’ve lived, I dreamed first.
“Every dream I’ve lived, I dreamed first.”
©Private photo: Mina Ilić and Anja Ilić, Serbian winter sport sisters, 2026 Winter Olympics
She Entered Out of Curiosity. She Left Dreaming Differently.
You were selected as one of a small group of women across Europe for the International Biathlon Union (IBU)/SheSkillz Global Mentorship Programme. What made you say yes, and what did you think it was going to be versus what it actually was?
Everything I expected turned out to be completely different. I wasn’t aware of the scale of the project or the calibre of people who would be involved. I entered out of curiosity, and I left as a better version of myself. I was paired with an incredible mentor, and that mentorship changed my goals entirely. I dream differently now. On top of that, I met extraordinary women who I believe we will work with together to popularise and develop biathlon for years to come.
Mentorship is often misunderstood, people picture one person dispensing wisdom to another. What does it actually look like in practice, and what surprised you about being on that side of the conversation?
A mentor becomes something far greater than someone who simply shares wisdom. They become like an older sister or brother, someone who helps you navigate your life at the exact moment you’re standing at a crossroads, where just a small push can show you a clear direction forward. I can honestly say I enjoyed every single day and every moment of the programme.
The 1% Who Went Up Against Everyone
Leadership in sports organisations has historically been very male-dominated. You’re actively working to change that from the inside. Is it energising, or exhausting?
I actively work and fight for our rights. In this part of the world, 99% of leadership positions are held by men. Being that 1% and going up against all of them was incredibly challenging. You have to work five times harder to prove yourself, want it five times more to succeed, but when you do succeed, the feeling is ten times more powerful, precisely because nobody believed you could. I try to support every female coach and sports administrator in the region, because only together can we achieve great things. And I want to be clear, I’m from the Balkans. A region where the word “equality” barely exists. If we managed to fight for our rights here, and if I, as a woman, am now in a leadership role across Southeast Europe, then anyone can.
There’s growing cynicism around women’s empowerment initiatives, that they’re great for visibility but slow to produce real, structural change. As someone living inside this space, what’s your honest verdict?
I actually enjoy it when someone doesn’t believe in my abilities. Because shortly after, I show them I’m capable of far more than they imagined. Those looks, that energy from the doubters, it’s worth more than any words. They will never admit that we are better. That’s exactly why we need to stay united and lift each other up. I genuinely believe that together, we can do anything.
What’s the one thing you wish someone had told you at 20, training hard, sacrificing everything for sport , that you now make sure to say to every woman you mentor?
Discipline is the key to everything. Push yourself to be a better version of yourself every single day, because only when you are your best self do you have the courage to fight against everything and everyone.
Where do you see yourself in five years? What’s the next goal, not as an athlete, but as the person you’re becoming now?
President of the Biathlon Federation of Serbia. That was the goal I had when I enrolled in the mentorship programme, and the programme helped me get there. We are now very close, and I hope we will complete this chapter the right way very soon. After that, bigger dreams await, and a stronger Biathlon Federation of Serbia.
©Private photo: Mina Ilić, Serbian cross-country skier and sports leader
I want to take a moment to thank International Biathlon Union (IBU)/SheSkillz Global, especially Dagmara, Guro, and Iva. Without this programme, I would never have had such a strong desire to become part of the IBU family. That was the goal I had when I enrolled in the mentorship programme, and the programme helped me get there. We are now very close, and I hope we will complete this chapter the right way very soon. After that, bigger dreams await, and a stronger Biathlon Federation of Serbia.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, three people from the same household stood on the start line, Mina’s brother-in-law competing for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the two sisters for Serbia. It’s the kind of detail that sounds too cinematic to be true. But for Mina, it was simply the result of something she has believed in her whole life: that if you dream it clearly enough, with enough discipline and enough stubbornness, reality has no choice but to follow.
She is not waiting to be given a seat at the table. She is building the table, one female coach, one female sports administrator, one mentorship conversation at a time. From a region where the word “equality” barely exists, she is currently the coordinator for Southeast Europe in FIS. The presidency of the Serbian Biathlon Federation is next. After that, she says, come bigger dreams await.
We believe her.
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