Small Country, Big Olympic Hopes

Slovenia’s Olympic medal hopes, Cop and Spik
© FISA

When it comes to rowing there is nothing small about Slovenia. As one of the smallest member countries of FISA and with a population of two million people, Slovenia has qualified four boats for the Athens Olympics.

All four boats qualified at last year’s World Championships in Milan, but a dispute has now arisen as there are more deserving oarsmen than places. Head coach, Milos Jansa demoted two very promising and talented young athletes, Matej Prelog and Rok Kolander, to reserve status.

Prelog and Kolander have both been members of the four that came fourth at the Sydney Olympics and third at the 2001 World Championships.

In 2003 Prelog joined forces with Luka Spik in the double and qualified for the Olympics by finishing fourth at the World Championships while Kolander remained a member of the four, finishing sixth.

But it all changed this year when Iztok Cop returned to the double with Spik to defend their Olympic title. Cop has spent the last three years racing the single but after finishing behind German sculler, Marcel Hacker, Cop changed to the double. Also three-time Olympic veteran Jani Klemencic has joined his younger colleagues in the four. Klemencic won bronze at the 1992 Olympics and has been racing in the four this year.

World Record holders Cop and Spik are Slovenia’s best shot for a medal in Athens. Until this season they had a perfect winning score but then suffered their first defeats against the Italian duo of Rossano Galtarossa and Alessio Sartori at the 2004 BearingPoint Rowing World Cup regattas in Munich and Lucerne. However Cop and Spik have not given up hopes of defending their Olympic title as their training was affected early in the season by Spik’s suffering knee problems.

The four, with brothers Miha and Tomas Pirih, Gregor Sracnjek and Klemencic can produce wonders on a good day and this very light crew might even be one of the top favourites in Athens with the expected tail winds.

Also competing for Slovenia, single sculler Davor Mizerit and the coxless pair of Matija Pavsic and Andrej Hrabar, will set their sights on reaching the A-finals at Athens.

Copy thanks to Borut Sauta, of DELO, Slovenia