Veliaj with athletes preparing to represent Albania in Tokyo, Smajlaj: Lucky I came to Tirana, I found an open window
2021-05-29 12:22:40
TiranaPost
From the Lake Park, where elite athletes already have their training tracks, the Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj, together with the athletics champion Izmir Smajljaj and the well-known football player Gjergj Muzaka, held a meeting with young people shortly before the Tokyo Olympics. Smajljaj confessed that for his path to success he was inspired but also supported a lot by his family to whom he dedicates the title of European champion in 2017.
"I was born in Shkodra, in a family of athletes. My father was a volleyball player as well as my uncle. The sister also started getting engaged for a period of time, but left. Then my father introduced me to the sport of athletics, he was the one who pushed me. I started the sport at the age of 9 and like every child I enjoyed running, walking. Gradually doing training, I started participating in national competitions, where I started to excel in dance competitions. Every jump I made was an impenetrable emotion and the more fun I had the more motivated I was to move forward. Seeing the happiness of my family, I had a motivation for more and so I managed by winning competitions and breaking records until the golden year came in 2017 where I became European Champion , "said Smajljaj.
He added that in Tirana he has found everything he needed to train and move forward.
"I have had many sacrifices, but since my arrival in Tirana and after the European Championship, I have found an open window in Tirana, I have had the support of the mayor and thank you for everything you have done so far. Since coming to Tirana I am very satisfied with the conditions. Tirana meets all the conditions for me, especially with the new runway that has been made here. I hope we have another track with 6 lanes. The mayor has given us the word that we will do it and I hope they do it as soon as possible. Tirana is full of sports activities so I am lucky to have come to Tirana, " further stated the athlete.
Mayor Veliaj said that in sports as in life, you have to prepare a lot to achieve the result, but for him, he said, you have to be focused.
"Sometimes you see a man performing for just a few seconds, from start to finish, and you say, 'What an easy thing, 4 seconds to raise our flag and a medal.' Clearly after 4 seconds are years, hours, extraordinary effort, a whole family, a whole city, a whole team supporting a man for those 4 seconds. If you look at our lives, whether we are athletes or not, in everything we do there is a rostrum of spectators who say, "Why is this done?" And the question is: Are you prepared enough to stay focused on what you want to do, or will you allow anyone to upset you, slander you, discourage you, have a reason or jealousy, or anger try to block you? your success? I believe that the lessons that come to us especially from athletes is: Focus, focus, focus. said Veliaj.
