E uropean outdoor and indoor long jump champion, bronze medal- list at the Rio Olympics, winner of the Diamond League, ranked the world’s number one long jumper in 2017 by the International Athletics Fed- eration, winner of over 500 medals and trophies... If you’ve never heard of Ivana Špano- vić before, you should know that she has managed to do what no other Serbian athlete has, who began battling for suc- cess on her own as a little girl and who is today the envy of everyone for her level of physical fitness. However, she also has another side – she adores animals, nature and Italian cuisine. You ended 2017 as the world’s num- ber one ranked long jumper. What does that mean for you, and for Serbia? - I certainly feel proud of the fact that I succeeded in something that no other Serbian athlete has previously done. I am proud of my team and everything we’ve been doing and winning in recent years. The year started wonderfully, with a jump of 7.24 metres at the Belgrade Arena dur- ing the European Athletics Indoor Cham-
pionships, and later by winning the Dia- mond League for the second time in a row. This was a fantastic element of the season. Behind this success there must surely be a specific driving force. Which three things would you say inspire such success the most? - Team, trust, and persistence in achieving clearly defined goals. What pushes you to keep fighting on a daily basis? - I am very self-critical and in my work often only see what I can improve on. Chal- lenges are an everyday factor and inspira- tion must also be inexhaustible. At what point did you become aware of your success? - When I won my first senior med- al I felt like a great burden had been lift- ed from my heart. When I say ‘burden’ I mean in terms of my own expectations of myself, as well as those of others. After that I was more relaxed during competi- tions, so I could concentrate more on my performance. That’s because if I turn up fully prepared for competition and on- ly perform my ideal jump, then the fight for a medal would be very realistic and expected. That didn’t scare me, because
I love spending time in nature and tranquillity, which is why I often flee to Bled in Slovenia when I want to rest zato je mesto na koje često pobegnem kada želim da se odmorim Bled u Sloveniji Volim da boravim u prirodi i tišini,
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