Budapest (from our reporter) – “In the final I will be less nervous than when I went to the qualification. Being the twelfth worst in the world is a wonderful performance, but I’m not giving up and will fight for the top ranks,” he promises.
Heat, long and packed qualification… How demanding was it?
It was very long, but I went with it. I’m excited, but I really fought for it. It’s unbelievable that twelve girls jump 465.
Did you expect that the final limit would have to be overcome?
She waited. I went into the competition knowing that I would have to jump 465. I didn’t know how the competition would go, but when I saw the start list, I was actually a little scared. There were 37 girls, which is an extremely high number. The coach (Štěpán Janáček) thought that the limit would be even higher.
In the beginning, you jumped on the first attempt, so the pauses between attempts were long.
But apparently I put up a good fight with it. I tried to distract myself, not to focus on the race and how the other girls were jumping. Of course, I was running out of energy towards the end, but I tried to somehow maintain and save energy for the end between attempts. Qualifying is always the hardest and most important race for me.
You could also see how relieved you were when you cleared 465 on your second try.
It was a huge relief, I really breathed a sigh of relief. I was very happy and tired at the same time. I immediately said to myself: Yes, I’m in the final of the World Championship, great!
Photo: Pawel Kopczynski, Reuters
The joy of Amália Švábíková after a successful jump in the Budapest qualification,
Right by the sector there was a flag with the inscription Kadaň, where do you come from…
I don’t even know who put it there. From my family, I only had my brother and his girlfriend here, but the whole family and (boyfriend) Ondra will come to the finals, so I’m looking forward to it.
Did they put you under a bit of pressure when they bought tickets all the way to the final?
Of course, a little yes. (smile) I knew it would be so stupid if they came to the finals and I didn’t get there. On the other hand, everyone reassured me that I shouldn’t think that they were going to watch athletics. But I’m glad it worked out and they’ll be watching me too.