Here in Serbia the Olympic program would start around 2am and last until mid afternoon, sometimes late afternoon. I wasn't up during the night to watch so I would usually start watching when I get up in the morning. But for the last night when Serbia was playing for the bronze medal in Women's volleyball, I did set my alarm for 2am to watch the match, then I went back to sleep and woke up around 7am again. Not the best night sleep but it was all worth it since we won the bronze medal in Women's volleyball and later gold medal in Men's water polo which was a perfect way to end the Olympics in Tokyo. Looking at this photo, it is such a shame there was no audience, I think that players in all sports really missed/needed that.
During the Olympics, I like to watch all sports even if Serbia is not competing - there's just something special in watching the best sports men and women with all the pride they have for representing their country. Of course, with all the effort and extremely hard work they put just to participate in the Olympics, I guess they all come there to win but even if they don't, they still congratulate each other (with few exceptions maybe), the atmosphere is just different, there's a lot of respect and it's such a nice thing to see. It was also so inspiring to hear about how some of the athletes overcame difficult injuries and hardships but they were still able to give their all, work hard and make their dream come true. It is really incredible!
As viewers, rooting for our countries, I think we all get nervous, maybe a little bit mad when we are losing and we have comments about what he/she/they should have done better but at the end of the day I really feel proud of all the men and women who got to the Olympics, had a chance to compete Serbia and most importantly present our country on the biggest global sports event. I don't know if I'm getting more emotional as I get older but when I see someone stepping on that stage to receive a medal, the flags and anthems, even if they are not from my own country, it gets tears to my eyes and I always try to imagine how they are feeling at that moment and how much they worked, practiced and sacrificed to get there.
I live next to a couple of playgrounds and after any European or world football/basketball competition, I notice kids being more active, gathering in the summer evenings to play ball and these days has been the same - I actually hear some of them now playing basket 3x3 where we won a bronze medal. I feel like nowadays young people exposed to Social media can look for idols in the wrong people so I really hope that younger generations especially will find a lot of inspiration/motivation in some of the athletes they noticed and liked, but not just them, I think they can be inspiration for all of us when it comes to working hard, being disciplined and humble while chasing our dreams or just an inspiration to be more active and healthy, try out a new sport maybe, just for fun. :)
To end this post, I want to express my gratitude to all the Serbians who got to the Olympics, no matter how far they have come. Some of them said goodbye to the national team, some of them had their first Olympics - we did said goodbye to some true legends who made history in their sport and we are welcoming new generations of talented people which is always amazing. Tokyo seemed to be an amazing host this year with all the challenges and difficulties they were facing, I think they did an amazing job with organization. Opening and closing ceremonies were wonderful, such incredible visuals! Now we have to wait for 3 years to see what Paris has to offer...
Serbia Olympic medalists, Tokyo 2020:
Gold:
Milica Mandic - Taekwondo Women's +67kg
Jovana Prekovic - Karate
Men's water polo team
Silver:
Damir Mikec - Shooting, Men's 10m air pistol
Bronze
Tijana Bogdanovic - Taekwondo Women's 49kg
Basketball Men's 3x3 tournament
Milenko Sebic - Shooting, Men's 50m riffle 3 positions
Zurab Datunashvili - Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman 87kg
Women's volleyball team
Total number of medals: 9
Rank: 28 (26 by the total number of medals)
If you have been following the Olympics, let me know who was the most successful from your country or maybe the biggest surprise or just in general, who made an impression on you? I would love to hear your experience watching and rooting for your or any athlete/team. :D
How well you wrote! You are right, athletes who competed in the Olympic Games, great people worthy of emulation!
I also followed the Olympics and was very proud of the athletes of my country. But I was very upset because of the results in rhythmic gymnastics, especially in personal all-around. Very offensive silver!
Thank you! :)
I guess you are from Russia, you have so many amazing participants in so many sports. I was rooting for Russia in the men's volleyball finals, it was really intense to watch! Nikita Nagornyy and Angelina Melnikova really caught my attention in gymnastics. I was watching the individual all-around in rhythmic gymnastics, sisters (twins) were amazing and I think they and everyone else were convinced they were going to win gold and silver, I could see the disappointment on their faces, they seemed really mad. Unfortunately, there was no group all-around finals on our national television so I couldn't watch it.
Also the way you beat us in basketball 3x3 tournament was painful to watch, haha.🤣
That's great to hear! As someone who never did any sports, I still felt that way so I can imagine the feelings are even stronger for someone who did sports for many years like you did so I'm glad you're getting back to volleyball. 💜 I remember how Zumba improved my physical and mental health but now I want to do a Schroth method of exercises for my spine (scoliosis), I was also thinking about it for some time but now I'm sure I'll do it in September. 🙂 Olympics got us so inspired and ready to move! 😂