■ Are you ‘addicted’ to sports or do you have time to pursue hobbies?
for athletics?
- When I get to the runway, I try to focus intently on all the steps leading to that perfect jump. Support and advice from my team means a lot at that moment, as does the support I get from the stands. The feeling you get when the audience cheers you on is unbeatable. It holds specific meaning and weight to me. It gives me additional strength, which I feel when I am up in the air. It is the positive energy I feel coming from them in abundance.
- I enjoy reading. In my spare time, I like to relax with a book and good music. I adore animals; the love I have for the animals is very fulfilling and it makes me happy. ■ You are known for having great communication with your fans. Do you find it tiresome sometimes and what is the secret of having a good relationship with your fans?
from EDUCONS University in Sremska Kamenica to enrol at the Faculty of Business Economics. How important is education to a person developing into a successful athlete?
- I think education is an important part in the development of any person, especially athletes. It is a wellknown fact that a top athlete’s career is a short-lived one compared with the rest of their life, so every athlete should think in advance about their career after sports. They should contemplate that before it is too late.
■ Successful female athletes are often stereotyped as butch and not properly groomed. As an attractive woman, what is your reaction to such views?
- I think that every female athlete is focused mainly on her love of sports and desire to achieve top results. Also, being a professional athlete has its advantages and flaws. It is a matter of taste whether you like a woman with a defined muscle tone or not, but the truth is that you don’t achieve top results because of your appearance, but because of the years of hard work and sweat you put into it.
■ Your boyfriend is Vladimir Kumrić, who is also a former athlete and your partner in managing the Women’s Fitness Centre. What is a relationship between two athletes like? - Vladimir is a great support to me in life and somebody who understands me perfectly.
■ Foto: redbull
■ You have received a scholarship
I think that every female athlete is focused mainly on her love of sports and desire to achieve top results. You don’t achieve top results because of your appearance
- I think the secret lies in sincerity. I have always tried to be sincere in approaching them and to relay to them in the best possible way how much their support means to me. The road to success is not linear but a curve with many ups and downs. I have been lucky to have fans who understand that and who have been with me when it mattered. There isn’t a better feeling than when you are able to share your success with the people who have been supporting you. I am hugely grateful to them for the trust and love they have been showering me with all this time. ■ Great athletes have said that the role a champion plays in promoting sports is more important than results…
- I am glad to see that, thanks to my results, many kids have become interested in athletics and started to do it. I am also very happy if I was the one that contributed to the popularity of athletics in Serbia.
■ What are your plans for next season and what are your future ambitions?
- I have two big competitions lined up for next season, both during winter – the Indoor World Championships in Sopot, Poland, and after that I am going to focus on the European Championships in Zurich. I want to stay at the very top in athletics for as long as possible and bring many more medals from important competitions back to Serbia. ■
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110 December 2013 | 77