President of the Republic of Slovenia welcomes the Slovenian Olympic team

Brdo pri Kranju, 26.8.2008  |  press release

Today at Brdo Castle, the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, hosted a reception for the Slovenian Olympic team on their return from the 29th Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The President greeted the Slovenian athletes on their return home and, in his address, congratulated them on their incredible achievements at the Beijing Olympic Games. He stressed that their achievements proved that the Slovenes were undoubtedly a sporting nation and as such respectably represented at global level.

“When you were departing for Beijing, I bid you farewell by saying ‘fortune favours the bold’. I said then that those of you leaving for Beijing were brave and well-prepared, and would therefore certainly have a bit of luck on your side. Indeed, this proved to be true. But it must be stressed that sporting luck alone does not guarantee success. It only adds the last few percentage points of performance. Everything else comes from elsewhere – from your work, persistence and talent,” stressed President Türk.

The President pointed out that in terms of Olympic medals per capita, Slovenia ranked among the best in the world. He went on to add that what was even more impressive was that Slovenian athletes had achieved top rankings in such a wide variety of events. Dr Türk stressed that these achievements were the direct result of the athletes’ efforts and maintained that the state should support elite athletes competing at the highest levels of sport and provide them with additional financial assistance in order to contribute to their living and training costs. He further explained that assistance of this kind would also involve the athletes’ commitment to helping discover young and talented future athletes and develop our sporting culture.

Excellence is what drives the society forward, stressed the President. He drew attention to the fact that excellence had many faces, and we must therefore look for ways to encourage it and ensure that it is given widespread public recognition. In closing, the President praised all the athletes who had competed at the Olympic Games for their efforts and achievements, and wished them every success in their future sporting careers.