One needs some time to mature in one’s sport. The medal belongs to the team, says Grigar

However, two gates before the end of his ride ran out of strength, mistakes came and in the end it was “only” 5th place. However, Jakub Grigar did not mourn in Rio de Janeiro at that time. “At least I have the motivation to get to the next games and fight for a medal there,” he said.

The next Olympic period unexpectedly stretched from four to five years, but the Slovak national team confirmed that he did not speak to the wind in Brazil and fulfilled his words to the fullest.

On Friday, he performed two excellent rides in the Kasai Olympic Canal and was the first Slovak to win a medal in K1. In the final, he was defeated only by the sovereign Czech Jiří Prskavec. “I think it was a very good ride on my part. I started well, I started with water and basically everything worked out the way I imagined.” he said.

Like five years ago, fatigue in Tokyo ended in the end, but this time the much more experienced Grigar was watching the situation: “I felt tired and mistakes usually start to be made then, so I’m glad that even though I had tired hands, I was able to move on.

I didn’t make a big mistake and I even cut off from raids where I needed to accelerate. I think this was such a good ride that I would like to show all the time. “

In five years he has come a long way, which was not often pink. The former world and European champion among juniors and in the under-23 category had worse periods after the Olympic Games in Rio, but he did not give up and worked even harder to be successful. “One needs some time to realize some things and get a little mature in one ‘s sport.

You still can’t drive just like that. It takes a lot of work to really enjoy it. I also realized that I have to think about a lot of details, whether it was training, diet, mental setting. I think the difference between Cuba in Rio and Cuba today is that I at least tried to get closer to being the most professional athlete I can be. “ he said.

The medal line of Slovak water slalom skiers, which started in Atlanta in 1996, continues thanks to Grigar even after the Tokyo Olympics. The modest young man did not want to keep the silver only for himself, but dedicated it to all those who helped him during his career.

“I have to say that this is not my medal, but the medal of the whole team, because every single member worked one hundred percent so that we could achieve that success here. I would stand here for a very long time if I had to thank everyone who helped me. The biggest thanks goes to my parents, who brought me to this sport and always stood behind me. Whether it was good or bad. “

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