Bosnia announces joint team

Bosnia announced on Tuesday a team of Moslems, Serbs and Croats who will for the first time comprise a country-wide Olympic squad for the Sydney Games.

Nine athletes will compete in the squad named by the Bosnian Olympic Committee -- four in track and field, one in judo, two in shooting and two in swimming.

Five are from the Moslem-Croat federation and four from the Serb republic, the two autonomous regions which comprise post-war Bosnia.

Bosnia won emergency recognition from the International Olympic Committee for the Barcelona Games in July 1992, just three months after its independence was recognised.

Despite four years of war and the four difficult years which followed, Bosnia managed the send multi-ethnic teams to the Olympics.

But, until now, Serbs living in the Bosnian Serb republic were prevented from taking part by the intransigence of their political leaders.

Sarajevo staged the 1984 Winter Olympics during the days of the old republic of Yugoslavia.

Bosnian Olympic officials declined to predict the team's chances in Sydney, saying only that "they will give their best".