Stuart Weir writes this piece on one of his favorites, Sandra Perković, the pride of Croatia.
Sandra Perković – six times European champion in the discus throw.
In Oslo this summer, I was talking to Sandra Perković. I asked her what ambitions she still had, having won everything. She looked me straight in the face and said: “I want to win it all again.”
“It all,” by the way, means the Olympics twice (2012 and 2016), the World Championship twice (2103 and 2017), and the European Championship six times in a row (2010-2022). Then there were two silvers and a bronze at World Championships and six Diamond League titles…
Incidentally, we had agreed to meet in the hotel lounge at 9.30, and she brought her breakfast. She spoke with such passion about discus-throwing that the breakfast remained untouched.
To be honest, Munich 2022 was not her smoothest competition. She opened with a foul, then 65.77m to confirm her access to the final three throws. Two more fouls, then 67.95,m and finally a fourth foul. It reminded me of her one-throw 2016 Olympic victory when a 69.21m in the third round was her only legal throw, but it was enough. She told me that the reason she was fouling in Rio was that she was too powerful for her technique: “I needed my arms to be longer!”
Her assessment of Munich 2022 was: “I just won my sixth European title here at this beautiful stadium in front of this amazing crowd, so I am so happy and proud tonight, and the competition was in Germany again, just like in 2018. I had to fight against the strong Germans again, just like in Berlin, and I struggled a bit as they were fighting so much and improving their PBs and SBs. But I knew I was ready to do it, and I think the fight was nice. I am sorry for them that I destroyed their party but let’s wait for the 2023 World Championships and see what happens. I am glad for the Germans that they managed to get silver and bronze, and this competition was really on the level of the world championships. I think the most precious of my European medals was the one in 2010 when I just came to the championships like a 19-year-old kid and won my first European major medal. At the time, I could not imagine that in 12 years, I would still be standing here, chasing my sixth gold”.
Sandra is a great technical thrower, but alongside that, she has incredible motivation and mental strength: “My main motivation is to satisfy myself and be proud of myself, so I find it hard not to give 100% even if I am way ahead of second place. I have found that if I over-think it, that is not good. It is better for me just to throw and do my job”.
Her identity is in her sport: “Track and field is my life, and I’m never happier than when I come to a stadium and win a title. That’s what inspires me. Sandra Perkovic is a discus thrower. That is what defines me as a person. After winning all the titles, I want more and more and to become one of the greatest discus throwers ever”. Another motivation at age 32 is “to show myself and others that I am capable of another good season”.
Away from the track, she served as a member of the Croatian Parliament “because it’s very important that young people are involved in politics”. She sees herself as a role model for young athletes and young people. I want to show them that with hard work and a lot of love for your job, you can achieve everything in life that you wish. That’s the way I did it, the way I became a champion and won the titles. It’s very nice when you’re inspiring people”.
A great athlete and a special person.
