NAŠI SREBRNI KAJAKAŠI OUR SILVER KAYAKERS
FROM A LITTLE SWAMP TO OLYMPIC BRILLIANCE OD MALOG RITA DO OLIMPIJSKOG SJAJA Tekst / Words: Jelena Medić Fotografije / Photography: Aleksandar Dimitrijević
D unav. Jedna od najlepših reka Evrope. Ima stotine lica i hilja- du boja. Čuvar života i čuvar onih koji po njemu plove. Mi- lenko Zorić i Marko Tomiće- vić, olimpijski vicešampioni u kajaku na 1.000 metara, imaju jedno lice – pobed- ničko! Čuvari srebrne medalje iz Rija. Za razliku od nemirnog Dunava, po- red kojeg sedimo, srebrni momci potpu- no su mirni. Kao i nedavno u Riju. Na- učila ih je tome velika reka… Malo je poziva bilo pre Igara, sad ih, kažu, svi zovu. A njih dvojica i te kako imaju šta
Kako su dva dečaka odrasla pored malih reka uspela da doveslaju do vrha sveta How two boys who grew up near a small river succeeded in paddling to the top of the world
The Danube. One of the most beautiful rivers in Europe. It has hun- dreds of faces and thousands of colours. It is a guardian of life. And a guardian of those who sail on it. Milenko Zorić and Marko Tomićević. Olympic silver medalists in the thousand-metre kayak. They have one face – a winning one! Guardians of silver medals from Rio. Unlike the restless Danube, which we are sitting beside, these silver boys are completely calm. As they were re- cently in Rio. They were taught that by
da ispričaju. Najpre onima koji se pitaju kako dva de- čaka odrasla pored malih reka mogu da doveslaju do vrha sveta… – Kajak sam počeo da treniram kada sam imao 13 godina. Razlozi su bili praktični. Bio sam zaljubljen u jednu devojčicu, znao sam da ona vreme provodi na Tisi i počeo sam da treniram. Želeo sam da joj tako privučem pažnju i dopadnem joj se – priča Marko ot- krivajući najjači motiv poznat čoveku – ljubav. Ali... – Došao sam da bih se dopao devojčici, a otišao sam zaljubljen u kajak. Bila je to ljubav na prvi pogled. I evo, traje i dan-danas. Ta ljubav me je odvela do Rija. Milenkova priča nije tako romantična, ali je po- znaje svaki vrhunski sportista. Priča o radu, disciplini, odricanju, predanosti i velikim snovima. – Rođen sam u Bačkoj Palanci. Jednog sam dana s drugarima otišao na jezero Tikvara i seo u kajak. Je- dini cilj mi je bio da ne ispadnem iz čamca. Naravno da nisam uspeo iz prve. Nedelju dana mi je trebalo da naučim da održavam ravnotežu. Zastaje Bata na trenutak, a onda poentira: – Otkako smo postigli ovaj uspeh, ljudi dolaze da čestitaju mojim roditeljima i kažu: „Pa kako je to vaš Bata odjednom postigao takav uspeh?“. Ne, nije odjed- nom! Ne znaju koliko je truda, odricanja, želje i volje utrošeno da bih stigao do ovog srebra. Ne znaju oni da sam svakog dana, bez obzira na to da li pada sneg ili kiša, da li je zima ili leto, da li me prži sunce ili mi se lede kosti, uvek išao na trening. Imam druga koji je u
the great river... They received a few calls before the Games, now, they say, everyone calls them. And the two of them certainly have something to say – primari- ly to those who wonder how two boys who grew up be- side a small river could paddle their way to the top of the world... - I started to train in kayaking when I was 13 years old. The reasons were practical. I was in love with a girl. I knew that she spent time on the Tisza and so I started to train. In that way I wanted to attract her at- tention and for her to like me – says Marko, revealing the strongest motive known to man - love. But... - I came so that a girl would like me, but I left in love with kayaking. It was love at first sight. And here it lasts to this day. That love took me to Rio. Milenko’s story isn’t so romantic, but it is one that is familiar to every top athlete. It is a story of work, dis- cipline, sacrifice, devotion and big dreams. - I was born in Bačka Palanka. One day I went with my friends to Lake Tikvara and sat in a kayak. My on- ly goal was not to fall out of the boat. Of course, I didn’t succeed the first time. I needed a week to learn how to maintain balance. Bata stops for a moment, then makes a point: - Since we achieved this success, people come to congratulate my parents and say, “Well, how did your Bata achieve such success all of a sudden?” No, it wasn’t all of a sudden! They don’t know how much effort, sacrifice, desire and will was exerted in
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