Mit - Index

Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_08_št.12 - Index

INTeRview
HOw MUCH MONEy DID yOU GEt FOr tHE
GOLD MEDAL IN BEIJING?
40,000,00 euros. The state contributed half of this (The Ministry
of Education and Sport awarded the contestants 19,350,00
untaxed euros for a gold medal, 12,900,00 euros for a silver
medal, and 6,450,00 euros for a bronze medal; writer’s note).
HOw MUCH HArD wOrK HAvE yOU
INvEStED IN tHE MEDAL?
I train 5 hours a day, except Sundays. I need to rest in between,
but all the time I live for sport - there are no holidays. Everything
is ruled by this. Of course, such a regime requires discipline, with
which I don’t have a problem. The key to success is a strong psyche.
In moments of the highest adrenalin tension, I control my body
and especially my mind. My motto is to have a positive outlook
on life, which is an exceptional virtue for an elite athlete.
It SEEMS LIKE FAME HASN’t DIvErtED
yOU FrOM yOUr FIrM, rAtHEr MODESt
LIFE PAtH.
I can’t see why it should. I never had any problems with that.
Stardom is not something I crave.
It IS SAID tHAt yOU HAvE A vEry
StrONG PErSONALIty, AND tHAt tHErE
ISN’t A tHING IN tHE wOrLD tHAt
wOULD SHAKE yOU.
Probably such things exist, but I believe that everything in life
happens for a reason. If I fly too high and somebody ‘puts me
back in my place’, then so be it.
HOw MUCH DOES yOUr trAINING
PrOGrAMME COSt yOU ANNUALLy?
The salary for my trainer, physiotherapists and other advisors,
along with other expenses, amount to over 100,000 euros
annually. This year, the expenses won’t be difficult to cover,
because the Olympic gold medal will get me approximately as
much in awards as the Olympic gold medal programme costs.
Daily expanses for the whole team are around 500 euros.
HOw LONG wILL yOU StAy IN tHE
SADDLE?
I want to participate at two more Olympics. At the next one, I
plan to achieve, as I said before, the world record.
DING tO tHE NUMBEr OF MEDALS wON
At tHE OLyMPIC GAMES, SLOvENIANS
HAvE PrOvEN tO BE BEttEr tHAN
MOSt OF tHE COUNtrIES wItH A
SIMILAr, CENtrAL EUrOPEAN SPOrtING
sinfo 12 22
CULtUrE, wHICH ONLy SHOwS tHAt
SLOvENIA IS wELL PrOFILED AND
POSItIONED IN INtErNAtIONAL
COMPEtItIONS.
Absolutely. Slovenian sport is almost too good for Slovenian
circumstances. We are small, but we have a lot of good athletes.
That is why they have to be exposed and rewarded even more.