For one of our best track and field athletes Olivera Jevtic this will be the fourth participation in the Olympic Games, since she competed already in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. In her rich career, she won the silver medal in marathon at the 2006 European Championship, placed third in the famous Boston marathon in 2004 and was sixth at the Olympic Games in Athens.
For a month now Olivera has been training on the Zlatibor Mountain, and in the interview for the International Radio Serbia she says everything is going according to plan. She will go to London on July 31, six days before the race, in order to get acclimated.
“I know the climate in London already, and I do not think there will be surprises like in Beijing. I arrived there on the fourth day and did not have enough time, so acclimation cost me the result”, says Jevtic. She believes the competition at this year’s Olympics will be fierce and with Kenyans in the lead. On the other side, English world record holder Paula Radcliff will be on the home turf, and despite the injuries it will be easier to run with the support of local fans.
The Serbian long distance runner underlines she is glad our track and field athletes will be the largest crew at the games in London. “Besides this generation of athletes being very talented, it is certainly the merit of the athletics Federation and the national Olympic committee who have helped our competitors qualifying for the Olympics in the biggest number possible. I am very glad for it, and it will certainly be easier staying in the Olympic village with my friends”, says Jevtic.
Not wishing to give any forecast on her chances for a medal at the forthcoming event, Olivera adds that this time her motto is – it is important to partake and finish the race. “After all, marathon is the toughest event, you newer know what can happen in those two and a half hours. You cannot stop, the clock is ticking and you have to run those 42 kilometers as fast as possible. Therefore, it is very hard to forecast anything. I am happy that after the 15-month hiatus ands with semi-healed leg I was able to meet the norm at 2 hours 32 minutes. Now I have enough time until the Olympics to train properly and, I believe, achieve solid result. Still, I cannot guarantee being among the Top 6, as lot of things need to come in place for something like that”, Olivera Jevtic concluded in her interview for our radio.