The health of athletes must come first and this showed that the IOC is a responsible and serious organization that hears and respects the voice of athletes and national Olympic committees
We spoke with the legendary Božidar Maljković, the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee, about how the Committee has organized its activities during the state of emergency and the pandemic and how he spends his private time during the crisis. “It certainly wasn’t easy for the International Olympic Committee and Japan to make such decision (to postpone the Olympic games), but what this shows is the idea of Olympism goes beyond sport and always works for the benefit of man and humanity, ”says Mr Maljković
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How did you organize your business activities?
I have organized my work activities in accordance with the new situation and the measures of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, which have been prescribed for all of us. The isolation that I responsibly adhere to does not prevent me from performing my duties because we live in a fast time and in the age of the Internet, so we replaced face-to-face meetings with video calls and adapted to the new circumstances. The Serbian Olympic Committee continues to work hard, and so far we have had no problems working from home and fulfilling our work commitments.
How do you spend your private time during the pandemic?
Considering that I am a coach and now the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee, my home used to be just a quick pit stop. But today, I feel like a Formula 1 driver who has stopped driving all of a sudden and found a good side in all of this. I finally have time to read the books I bought earlier and could not commit to reading, I am rearranging my home library and getting acquainted with the things I forgot to have.
What will you do first after the state of emergency is abolished?
I’m going to have a barbecue and eat a spicy burger.
In your opinion, what are the consequences of postponing the Summer Olympics in Tokyo?
The Tokyo Olympics have been officially postponed. The International Olympic Committee made the right decision by postponing the Olympic Games. As I always say, the health of athletes must come first and this showed that the IOC is a responsible and serious organization that hears and respects the voice of athletes and national Olympic committees.
It certainly wasn’t easy for the International Olympic Committee and Japan to make such a decision, but what this shows is the idea of Olympism goes beyond sport and always works for the benefit of man and humanity
A serious undertaking awaits all of us, that is to combat this insidious virus first, and then afterwards to adapt our plans and activities to a new unprecedented situation for everyone. I’m sure that athletes and all other people in sport will be able to prepare themselves in the best way possible for the biggest sporting event on our planet once all of this has passed.