Sara Kolak: Without My Boyfriend, Nothing Would Have Been Possible
The Croatian athlete talks about her gold medal in Birmingham, the battle with pressure, and the key role of her coach and partner Mišel Žerak.
The Croatian athlete talks about her gold medal in Birmingham, the battle with pressure, and the key role of her coach and partner Mišel Žerak.
Sara Kolak (31) from Ludbreg won the gold medal at the European Championships in Birmingham on Sunday with a javelin throw of 62.43 meters. It was her second major golden moment in her career, ten years after her Olympic gold in Rio in 2016.
In an exclusive interview with Sportske novosti, Kolak summed up the past decade: "Uh, a lot has happened. There have definitely been challenges, good days, bad days. I'm glad I didn't give up, that I kept fighting, so, yeah, it's been a time."
She also recalled her brilliant 2017 season, when she became the European U23 champion and set her personal best of 68.43 meters at the Diamond League in Lausanne. Now, nine years later, the senior European gold has arrived.
When asked who helped her the most during difficult periods, Kolak highlighted her coach and partner Mišel Žerak: "That's a tough question. Mišel definitely helped me, I had great support..."
Asked if he might be the main reason she is where she is today, she answered without hesitation: "Yes, if it weren't for him, I most likely wouldn't be here today. He believes in me so much, he believed more than I believed in myself. He picked me up so many times when I was down, and I'm so grateful for that. I know it was hard for him too..."
"Without Mišel, nothing, if he weren't here, uh..."
Kolak openly spoke about the burden she has carried since entering the big stage: "I came onto the sports scene right away with a bronze and a gold, as a kid, literally a child... You're thrown into these things, and you're just not ready."
She particularly reflected on her relationship with results as a measure of self-worth: "It took me a very, very long time to realize that I'm not a bad person if I throw poorly. And I still felt that this season, but I managed, especially at this European Championship, to detach myself from that, let go of that pressure, not worry, but really be present in the moment and enjoy it."
One of the ways she copes with pressure is by logging off from social media. "Since 2024, I've been turning off before major competitions; I literally don't talk to anyone. Sometimes it's for three weeks, sometimes for a month; last year I was without social media for a whole year, and it was really great."
She added that she has no sponsors, which makes the decision for digital silence easier: "I don't have any! It's a different story when you have those obligations, because social media has become number one." Before Birmingham, she switched off and only turned her phone back on after the final to talk to her parents.
She finds relaxation in everyday activities: "Crocheting, I like being active, doing things around the house, baking, gardening... I'm better when I have more things to do, when I'm more productive, then I'm much better."
She also talked about her performance in Birmingham, where the javelin was the last event: "The downside of the javelin being last is that I can't cheer for others, but the upside is that I'm last, and I had such support that I'm incredibly grateful for. No matter how strong the headwind was, it felt like a tailwind."
When asked if she thought it could be gold after her first throw, she replied: "No, because I told myself to fight from the first to the last, not to let up and not to take anything for granted. In the sixth round, I kept telling myself, 'You still have one more, use it, fight, don't let up.'"
At the medal ceremony, she felt a special emotion: "At the ceremony, I look at that flag, I listen to 'Lijepa naša'... I thought I'd never hear it again, and that's just... I really had to fight for this in many ways and earn it. It's different when you're 21, you're still a kid, you come to the Games and take gold. Then things happen, you fight, you grow up."
She concluded with a message of gratitude: "I really don't know what to say... I'm grateful to everyone who was there and cheered, and to the whole team that helps me be better and tries to make it easier for me to give my all. I really have a great team around me, and I'm so thankful and happy about that."
