During her stay in Norway she trained with Lillehammer Ski Club, one of Norway’s best clubs, in the ambience of the Olympic city of Lillehammer where the 1994 Winter Olympics were held. The training visit was made possible thanks to the generous support of Lillehammer Ski Club and the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer, as well as financial support from the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo.
Photo: Royal Norwegian Embassy, SarajevoIvana Kovacevic represents the local skiing club of Romanija, and in her class she is the top cross-country skier in BiH. Countrywide, there are roughly 150 serious cross-country competition skiers, among whom Ivana has consistently shown top results. For Ivana the first major goal is clear: Participation in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Even though this is an ambitious goal, she has already been awarded a small Olympic foretaste with her participation in the Youth Olympics in Liberec, as well as with the training in Lillehammer’s Olympic atmosphere.
Ivana’s stay in Norway lasted for 36 days, and in an interview with a Norwegian newspaper she expressed her delight with the program and her time in the country: “I am very satisfied. My stay here has been great. I have learned a lot as well as gained many new friends so I am really happy with getting this opportunity.”
Ivana is also an important role model at the local ski-club, something that became apparent when we visited her at their training grounds at Jahorina. The tracks that 2 weeks ago saw international top athletes compete at the 51st World Military Ski Championship, functions as a meeting point for the club, and this is also where the groundwork for her recent achievements have been laid.
Commenting on her experiences from this winter, Ivana particularly emphasizes structure and hard work as key factors for success. As she explains herself: “The most important lesson that I have learned from my time in Norway, and one that I try to convey to my fellow athletes, is that good results requires that you do your very best every day, and that you enjoy the journey to the goal.” This is an attitude that surely will help her become a driving force in the future development of cross-country and biathlon in BiH, both at a local and a national level.
On the question of whether she observed any differences between skiing in BiH and Norway, she particularly emphasized the level of professionalism in the latter: “One of the first things I noticed when I came to Norway was how well organized everything was. There was a clear ideology when it came to training, and everyone had their specific tasks to work on. This is also something I hope to help establish in BiH, and something that would be of great benefit for athletes in this country.”
In addition to funding Ivana’s trip to Norway, the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo has also together with Lillehammer Ski Club sponsored her with new skiing equipment, with the hopes of further inspiration in her work towards Sochi in 2014. A long athletic journey has just begun for Ivana, and we wish her every success along the way!