Sa Er Srbijom uvek znam da sam među svojima – Kao neko ko izuzetno voli svoju ze- mlju, svoj grad i svoj narod, uvide- la sam da Er Srbija jednako poštuje upravo te vrednosti. Zato je volim – jer je naša! Ali i zato što, gde god da sam poletela i odakle god da letim, sa Er Srbijom znam da sam među svojima. Ona mi budi osećaj pripadnosti i vra- ća me u domovinu, nebitno iz kog de- la sveta, kojim povodom i sa kojim re- zultatima.
THEIRS WAS THE FIRST GOLD MEDAL FOR SERBIA at the Paris Olympics. And we can safely say that we expected it. We spoke only with Zorana, because Damir had some commitments and was unable to join us. But the two of them are like one soul with two bodies... Did you find time to enjoy Paris? “I had to return to Belgrade two days after completing my ap- pearance at the Games, so apart from the Olympic Village, Roland Garros and the Champions Park, I didn’t get the chance to see an- ything else. But I felt how vibrant the city is and how the Olympic spirit was everywhere. This is one more reason why I returned briefly to Paris afterwards, for the Games’ closing ceremony. Paris should be experienced.” What does this gold medal mean to you? “For me, this medal is the ful- filling of all my professional desires. I spent the longest time dreaming about it, I fought the hardest to win it and it tormented me the most. It forced me to question myself the most, but also brought out the best in me and offered me the opportu- nity to feel both indescribable sad- ness and joy equally. This is a med- al of our entire nation, who backed
me in both good and difficult times, supported me and didn’t give up on me when I might have given up on myself. This is a medal for Serbia!” Who have you dedicat- ed your victories and med- als to? “I usually dedicate victories and medals to the people who are around me and form part of my journey to the medal. They are sometimes the people who are by my side and participate in all of my training sessions, and some- times they are people who are no longer with us. I dedicated my first two major medals (junior gold in the European Championships and World Championships) to my fa- ther, who departed too early and who I lost at the age of 13. I dedi- cated this medal, the biggest in my life to date, to my friend Bobana Momčilović Veličković, who passed away four years ago. Bobana was a wonderful person who was loved very much by her family and by us, her colleagues and friends. I miss her laughter and humorous com- ments, our competing at training and in competitions, and the time we spent together when travelling somewhere. I know that she would be really delighted with this Olym- pic medal and hope that, if she’s watching from somewhere, she’s proud of what we’ve done.” What kind of plans do you have for your sporting ca- reer? “After every major and exhaust- ing competition, like this one, the first plan is to rest well and give myself time to recover. I decid- ed to further my education under the patronage of the Internation- al Olympic Committee, and in the period ahead I’ll dedicate myself to my studies a little more. Some in- telligent people said long ago that knowledge is power, and I’ve ful- ly adopted that ethos. For the past few years already, I’ve been devel- oping my knowledge on the topic of safe sport and the prevention of abuse and manipulation in sport. For now, shooting will be on the back burner for a while.”
WITH AIR SERBIA, I ALWAYS KNOW THAT I’M AMONG MY OWN PEOPLE “As someone who has exceptional love for their country, city, and people, I’ve seen that Air Serbia has equal respect for those values. That’s why I love it - because it is ours! But also because, wherever I’ve flown to and wherever I fly from, I know with Air Serbia that I’m among my own people. It awakens a sense of belonging in me and brings me back to my homeland, no matter which part of the world I’m in, what the occa- sion is and what kind of results I have.”
Olympics » Olimpijada | 105
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