Elevate oktobar

50 | Then I tried volleyball and fell in lovewith this sport. STEFANA: My dad took me and my sis- ter to our first training session. He wanted to getusoffthestreets.Andthat’show Ientered theworld of volleyball. For the rest of my life. Whichmomentswerethemostdifficultand most important in your careers? JOVANA: I’vebeenplaying in Italy for six years. I spent five years at thePomi Casalmag- gioreclub.IremembertheyearwewontheScu- detto,thenationalchampionship,althoughwe lost 2:0 in the semi-finals. That game is price- lessandI’llneverforgetit.Ialsorememberthe semi-finalagainstAmericaattheRioOlympics. Therewerealsodifficultmoments,whenIwas younger,inpuberty.Iconsideredgivingupvol- leyball because I couldn’t stand the pressure. Butmyparentsdidn’tletme.It’sthankstothem that I’mwhere I am today. TIJANA: Myfirstyearplayingabroadwas thehardest,whenIwentfromUžicetoZurich. I found it hard being away from family, with a new language, culture, volleyball at the high- est level.ButIwas luckythattherewerelotsof peoplefromSerbiaandtheBalkanswhohelped me to get accustomed to it. STEFANA: Theyear2011wasagreatbat- tle, when I didn’t play in the European Cham- pionshipdue to thyroidglandproblems.That problem was serious and caused chaos in my body. I lost 10 kilos. In Belgrade they couldn’t find a cause, so my doctors in Italy diagnosed me with increased hormone secretion. I start- ed therapy then and I take tablets that I’ll take for the rest ofmy life. I was evenon the brink of giving volleyball up, but things were a lot easi- eraftertheyestablishedthediagnosis.I’veover- comeeverythingwiththesupportofmyfamily and friends. And the turningpoint was playing in Poland and the RioOlympics. Howdoyou spendyour spare time; what do you enjoy that isn’t volleyball? TIJANA:I willsaywhatJovana’slike[laughs]. She’s a person who really likes to do nothing, to drink her espresso, water, possibly freshly squeezed juice, and to sit there enjoying that. Shelovesherfreetimewhenshecandevotetime toherself andher friends. She likes tohangout. She is very communicative, always smiling,andwithheryoualwaysexperiencesomehappening.Shedoesn’tliketobe inthecompanyofheavypeople,shelikesmorepeacefulvariationswithoutpressure. JOVANA: Tića [Tijana] is a girl in thrworldof her own imagination, she likes to “switchoff”, she likes to think about thosedifficult questions that haveno answers. She’s funny, and totally natural [laughs], she likes to take her picture and loves na- ture, forests and rivers, while I love the sea. STEFANA: I don’t have time for anything. This summer I went on holiday for the first time after I don’t know howmany years, because the competition sched- ulewas such that at that moment I could take a break. Andwhat’s the situation like on the love front? JOVANA :I’mcomplicated.Wedon’thavemuchtimetolove,butwe’reworkingonit. TIJANA: We’re working on that intensely. It’s important to have that kind of support, to share your spare timewith someone. STEFANA: I’m in a relationship and will always be in a relationship with him [she’s in a relationshipwith volleyball player Srećko Lisinac]. Cirih. Teško mi je palo odva- janje od porodice, nov jezik, kultura, odbojka na najvišem nivou. Ali imala sam sreću da je bilo dosta ljudi iz Srbije i sa Balkana koji sumi pomogli da se priviknem. STEFANA: Velika borba bila je 2011, kada zbog pro- blema sa štitastom žlezdom nisam igrala na Evropskom prvenstvu. Problem je bio oz- biljan, napravio mi je haos u organizmu. Smršala sam de- set kilograma. UBeogradu ni- su mogli da ustanove uzrok, pa su mi lekari u Italiji dija- gnostikovali pojačano lučenje hormona. Počela sam tada sa terapijom i pijem lekove koje ću uzimati do kraja života. Bi- la samčak i na granici da odu- stanem od odbojke, ali je na- kon uspostavljanja dijagnoze bilo mnogo lakše. Prebrodila sam sve uz podršku porodice i prijatelja. Prelomni momen- ti bili su igranje u Poljskoj i Olimpijske igre u Riju. Kakoprovoditeslobodno vreme, u čemu uživate, a da nije odbojka? TIJANA: Ja ću reći kakva je Jovana. (smeh) Ona je osoba koja mnogo voli da ništa ne ra- di, da popije svoj espreso, vodu, eventualno ceđeni sok i da tako sedi i uživa. Obožava svoje slo- bodno vreme, kada može da se posveti sebi i prijateljima. Voli da se druži. Veoma je komuni- kativna, stalno jenasmejana, sa njomuvek doživite neke dogo- dovštine.Nevolidabudeudruš- tvu napornih ljudi, voli mirnije varijante, bez pritiska. JOVANA: Tićajedevojkau svom svetu mašte, ona voli da se isključi, voli da razmišlja o onim teškimpitanjima koja nemaju odgovore. Duhovita je, sva je prirodna (smeh), voli da se fotografiše, voli prirodu, šumu, re- ke, dok ja volimmore. STEFANA: Nemam vremena ni za šta. Ovog le- ta samposle ne znam koliko godina otišla na odmor jer je u tommomentu raspored takmičenja bio takav da sammogla da napravim pauzu. A kakvo je stanje na ljubavnom terenu? JOVANA: Ja samkomplikovana.Nemamomno- go vremena za ljubav, ali radimo na tome. TIJANA : Intenzivno radimo na tome. Važno je da imaš tu vrstu podrške, da sa nekim podeliš slo- bodno vreme. STEFANA: U vezi sam i zauvek ću biti u vezi sa njim(zabavljasesaodbojkašemSrećkomLisincem). STEFANA VELJKOVI (28) Jagodina je njen rodni grad, a pozicija srednjeg blokera mesto u timu. Ima višegodišnji staž u reprezentaciji. Okitila se olimpijskim srebrom, evropskim zlatom, medaljom sa svetskog kupa. Na listi njenih klubova su Crvena zvezda i Čemik Polis. Kaže da je početak bio težak, a kao posebne momente izdvaja OI u Brazilu i igranje u Poljskoj. Jagodina is her hometown and Middle Blocker is her po- sition in the team. With many years of experience play- ing for the national team, she has won Olympic silver, European gold, and aWorld Cup medal. The list of clubs she’s played for includes Red Star and Chemik Police. She says that the start of her career was difficult, while she singles out as special moments the Olympics in Brazil and playing in Poland. Sportski intervju / Sports interview