News28 Aug 2008


Despite Beijing defeat, no lack of confidence or motivation for Vlasic as Jackpot chase resumes in Zurich – ÅF Golden League

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Blanka Vlasic at the pre-meet press conference in Zurich (© Bob Ramsak)

Zürich, SwitzerlandSince her march toward the penultimate leg of the ÅF Golden League series began in Berlin on 1 June, high jumper Blanka Vlasic has insisted that her bid for athletics' biggest prize would simply follow a meet-by-meet approach. Now, with the first four meets in the bag and two to go, that strategy hasn’t changed.

But the popular Croatian star admits that her runner-up finish to Tia Hellebaut in Beijing last weekend is playing a role as she looks ahead to Friday’s Weltklasse Zürich competition (29) where the two will square off again.

“For me, motivation is always on a high level, whether I’m winning or losing,” said Vlasic, the season’s world leader at 2.06m. “I always want to perform better. Better than at previous meetings. But definitely the fact that I didn’t win gold makes me more eager to win the upcoming competitions.”

Strong competition expected

Tomorrow night’s will be just as challenging as her last competition in the Chinese capital. Like many of the Zürich fields, the start list in the women’s High Jump is among the strongest assembled this season. The top nine finishers from Beijing will all be here, and Vlasic said none should be taken for granted.

“I think it’s going to be a very strong competition because lots of girls from the final in Beijing will be competing here. And of course we are still in great shape because it’s only been a few days since the Games. So I expect high level results. I don’t know how high we’ll jump, but definitely similar to the results from Beijing.”

Vlasic not thinking about 'revenge'

She’s definitely not keying on Hellebaut, the European champion indoors and out, who proved her big meet mettle yet again on the world’s biggest stage last Saturday. And ‘revenge’, she said, is not in her athletics vocabulary.

“I don’t like to think about revenge,” Vlasic said. “I think every girl is a great opponent tomorrow. It all depends on how each of them recovered from the big stress of Beijing.”

“I’m not thinking especially about Tia,” she said. “To be honest, I’m not thinking about any of them because it’s a competition for me and I jump against myself.”

Hellebaut to savour role of Olympic champon

Likewise, Hellebaut isn’t focusing on her potential spoiler’s role in Vlasic’s jackpot ambitions. But she said motivation shouldn’t be too hard to find after a predictable, if slight, emotional drain following her victory in Beijing.

“I think after a big championships you are always tired,” she said. “I just hope that I will have some rest tomorrow.” The only motivation she may need will come the moment she is introduced by the stadium announcer.

“It’s going to be special, the first competition as Olympic champion. I really look forward to tomorrow.”

She didn’t predict another victory, but only shared her admiration for her primary rival. “I respect Blanka, she’s a great athlete and great high jumper. I have a lot of respect for her performance.”

Vlasic packing plenty of confidence

Despite her loss to Hellebaut in The Bird’s Nest, one which brought her 34-meeting win streak to an end, Vlasic’s confidence hasn’t at all been rattled.

“My confidence didn’t go away after Beijing. I jumped 2.05 and it was a great competition and I was dealing with lots of pressure. I think I did quite well. So there is no reason for me to lose confidence.”

“I feel ready, I feel that I’m in great shape, and also rested,” she said. “The most important thing is that I’m very motivated. So there is no reason to lose confidence. Of course, I will try to improve (her confidence) even more tomorrow. There is never enough.”

She will however miss her win streak, which was by far the longest in the sport.

“I liked my winning streak. It was fun to see how people were counting, and it was a big number. It wasn’t pressure for me. It was another big motivation. This is what I always wanted, to be at the top of my discipline. So why should I complain if I’m winning all the time. That’s not a reason to complain.”

“So I decided to embrace all the pressure and all the things that come with producing great results because it’s a cost you need to pay. I’m just sorry that I have to start all over again. I hope some day I will reach that number again.”

But is her mind now firmly focused on the $1 million jackpot chase?

“I’m interested in lots of things,” she said, smiling. “But I don’t like to think about those things before they’re finished. As you saw in Beijing you cannot tell anything for sure in sports. I just work from day-to-day, and think first about the next competition. And that is tomorrow.”

For Hellebaut, with no Jackpot chase burden to carry in the back of her mind, the game plan for her outing is of a more relaxed nature.

“I don’t think about a new status, I just try to be myself. I’m just doing what I always do,” said Hellebaut, whose Olympic victory was the first ever by a Belgian woman. When she heads to the field in Zurich, she’ll bring along the same philosophy which brought her Beijing gold.
 
“Just having a good time, just enjoying what you’re doing,” she said. “You just go out and have fun. That’s the most important thing for me. If I didn’t have fun I wouldn’t have a good performance.”

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

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