Tough Love Drove A Wedge Between Olympic Champion Cavic And His Father
Tough love drove Serbia’s swimming champ Milorad Čavić to achieve his best, he said. But that same force for good drove a wedge between Čavić and his father, and could keep them apart as Čavić prepares for London 2012. The American-born Serb has told how his father refused to speak to him for three months after Čavic failed to bring home a medal, and that rift could keep him away from the Olympics.
“I don’t mean to insult or spit on my father but he was really, really hard on me,’ said Čavić. “In 2004 I had some trouble with my swimming suit during the semi final of the 100m butterfly. I was ready to win a medal. I thought the bronze was completely realistic. I was leading the first 50m by a long shot. I turned and coming home from the 50m to 60m mark, which is my strongest part of the race, I went from first to last.
Serbian Sport Suffers From Poor Coaching And Facilities, Says Milorad Cavic
Poor facilities, below par coaching methods and a lack of incentive to achieve the highest standards could be crippling Serbian athletics. That is the hard-talking wake-up call from Olympic medalist Milorad Čavić, shared with W!LDRooSTeR. Recalling his own success within the US training system, Čavić pointed out areas that need to be addressed if opportunities for young Serbian athletes are to improve.
In terms of facilities, there is some light on the horizon. “Thankfully, we received two new 50m pools this year,’ said Čavić. “One is where I train and the other is an outdoor pool with a balloon over it. In that regard, in Belgrade the conditions are much better now. It’s not ideal but it’s getting better. I have a good relationship with the President [Tadić]. He asked me how I liked the new training facilities. I said it was fantastic and he said, ‘I hope so, we dumped a lot of money into it’.
American Serb Milorad Cavic Owes Everything To The United States, He Says
Olympic silver medalist Milorad Čavić would not have achieved such success under the cash-strapped Serbian sports system, the American-born Serb told W!LDRooSTeR. “For everything I have in my life I have to thank the United States,’ he said. “I remember some people tried to insult me by saying I’m an American. I said, yeah and I’m not ashamed of that. That doesn’t upset me.”
Born in Southern California, Čavić spent most of his life in the United States. “I grew up with many Serbs,’ he said. “As kids in the diaspora where we were very nationalistic. I love this country, even though there are a lot of reasons to not be so proud of it. When I touch down into Nikola Tesla airport I just feel that there is something right and I feel at home. I love it and I can’t explain it. Throughout my life in sports, if something feels so right it can’t be wrong.”
‘Kosovo is Lost. It is Absolutely Lost,’ says US-Serb Olympian Milorad Cavic
Kosovo is lost to Serbia, says US-Serb Milorad Čavić. The Olympic swimmer, who created such a furore when he brandished a ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ t.shirt in 2008, told W!LDRooSTeR: “We are very proud of our history in Kosovo but I think it is lost. We can never accept that but, in reality, Kosovo is lost. It is absolutely lost. It is lost because of the people who stand behind them.
“The international community doesn’t understand what has happened. George Bush didn’t understand what happened when he gave away Kosovo, gave away something that wasn’t his. As a man from the state of Texas, where most of the state is Mexican and in 70% of the state they speak exclusively Spanish, if the Mexican people of that region said, ‘hey, everything here is Spanish, our heritage is Spanish and we want to take this for ourselves’, you’d better believe that George Bush would have said no.
