Sport
Sport
MAJA OGNJENOVIĆ, CAPTAIN OF THE SERBIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL VOLLEYBALL, SPEAKING ON THE EVE OF THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
Japan has constantly
brought us luck Our team is one of the few that has spent time in this wonderful country practically every year. From 2006 to 2018, we were regular guests in the Land of the Rising Sun, and the Japanese have always received us as they would their own, says this golden volleyball ace T op athletes often tailor their ca- reers to suit the so-called Olympic cycles. They train and live in such a way that they achieve top form every four years, the kind of form that would enable them to become immortalised by winning one of the medals at the Games. Thousands and thousands of them have tried and will try, but only the best of the best succeed in mount- ing the winners’ podium. To proudly observe the flag of their country flying on a mast, singing their na- tional anthem with tears in their eyes. Our own Maja Ognjenović has won lots and lots of medals. The first came back in 2006, and the most recent was won in 2019. She isn’t only the captain of the Serbia wom- en’s national volleyball, but also a woman who’s syn- onymous with perseverance, sacrifice, femininity, the fighting spirit, team spirit... Maja has always been there when Serbia has called. Injured, sick, sometimes on the verge of giving up on the sport - she was unable to say no. And that’s also the case now, as she will lead our graceful ladies at the Olympic Games, where the only objective is a gold medal. “That’s the medal I’m missing. When I recall just how close we came five years ago in Rio. We really gave our all, we wanted that gold, but... There is always some ‘but’. However, there are also always new oppor- tunities. That is in front of us now, we see it and this time we’ll do everything to grab it firmly. We’ve reg-
Borimo se sa vremenskim zonama i džet-legom, a sve to utiče na telo. Ponekad je teško, ponekad i teže, ali putovanja uvek imaju i svoje lepe strane. Nama, koji na sport gledamo sa strane, fascinantno je sa koliko žara i želje igra na velikim takmičenjima. – Teško mi je da objasnim kako se mi sportisti ose- ćamo. Na početku karijere, svi smo nestrpljivi, gladni trofeja. Želimo da odmah postignemo sve, da presko- čimo stepenice u razvoju i stignemo na vrh. Često to nije moguće. Godine prolaze, glad ostaje. Dolaze nove generacije, odbojka se menja i onda tražite motiv da nastavite da se borite. Prirodna selekcija u sportu je da stariji ustupaju mesto mlađima. Maja, koja će 6. avgu- sta proslaviti 37. rođendan, ne razmišlja o završetku karijere. Olimpijske igre 2024. godine biće u Parizu... – Zašto da ne, Pariz je lepo mesto da se zavr- ši karijera!
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