freediving
T
his is the nation for which sport is a lifestyle. Freediving is also for a growing group of peo-
ple. Not only in Slovenia, but we will focus on going under water in a country known as Europe in a nutshell. Why is it said about this small country with the population of Warsaw? For several reasons. There are mountains, lowlands, the sea, beautiful lakes, thermal springs, waterfalls and vineyards on site. Plus three climate zones. Alpine, or if you prefer – mountain, Mediterranean and moderate. Before we deal with how freedivers found themselves here, we will pay attention to the sports phenomenon of Slovenia. They have great cyclists – Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France last year, followed by his compatriot Primoż Roglić. Young Luka Donici is one of the biggest stars of the NBA basketball league and Jan Oblak is the goalkeeper of the current leader of La Liga Atletico Madrid. Moreover, they have great handball players and can even beat our volleyball players. And we are a real power in this sport and the current world champions. How is it possible for a nation of two million to generate such sports achievements? – The matter is complex and simple at the same time – Paweł Kranc begins. He is the founder of visitslovenia.pl portal and probably the best informed citizen of our country in Slovenian matters. – First of all, the spending of free time outside is in their blood.
FreeSlovenia Text krzysztof jarzyna
It is a generational tradition here that at the weekend – especially in mountain towns, whole villages go for long walks. In addition, the terrain helps them – they have beautiful mountains. Hence the passion for winter sports. I will never forget the first time I spent New Years Eve and New Years Day in Bled. When I woke up and looked out my hotel window, I saw a crowd of people outside. At different ages. Some
Samo Jeranko
were running, others were going with cross-country skis to Pokljuka – still others were getting ready to go alpine skiing. It was 9 am on New Years Day. Each of us knows
Slovenes fell in love with freediving like Poles did in winter swimming. If they opted for that second activity, they would not be bare-chested in the beautiful Julian Alps in winter, they would only do it wisely and join other sports they practice.
what the activity of Poles looks like then – he concluded. Of course, there are more reasons for the Slovenian sporting phenomenon. We must remember that not only in Slovenia, but also in the entire former Yugoslavia, sport was a window to the world, a chance to leave the country and a better life. Let us add that Slovenian cities are not large – it is easy to make decisions in such centers and it is easier to organize the lives of young people for sports. And the matter of sports educators – they are so well rewarded that they do not have
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