NOVAK ĐOKOVIĊ
Serbian tennis player
Being part of the Olympic Games and representing your country is a huge privilege and honour. [It’s so special to be] part of the oldest event in the sport’s history. Of course, winning a gold medal or any medal for my country is a great wish and desire. It is one of the greatest priorities and goals for [this] season.
The Olympics are unique. Just being in that village makes you feel incredibly inspired and proud to be there. But I’m also going to learn from my previous Olympic experiences and try to keep my routine so that I can perform my best. I won a bronze medal quite some time ago, in Beijing in 2008. I had the greatest honour of carrying the Serbian flag in the opening ceremony.
I haven’t had an opening ceremony experience since London 2012, so I really hope that I’ll be able to experience that and really enjoy my experience at the Olympic Games [in Paris] because it’s like nothing else.
SANDRA ELKASEVIĆ
Croatian discus thrower
This year, I have only one goal— to be at my best when it is most needed and to give my all to the process once again. The Olympic Games in Paris and the European Championships in Rome were my targets for this year, and from 1st January until 15th September, I was in a sort of quarantine to achieve my dream.
Many athletes calculate their chances, but I have never been one of them, neither then nor now. I defended my six European titles in Rome and will defend my two Olympic gold medals in Paris. The desires and goals are always the same, but we take it step by step. I know that in Paris, for what I want to achieve, I will have to throw very far, to my London 2012 and Rio 2016 levels. The mentioned 70 metres is a significant number, something that no one had thrown for 30 years before I arrived, and that result must always be respected and not taken lightly. Seventy metres is always a respectable number. Every throw over 67 metres is very valuable, and getting into such form is a great battle.
