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Two Olympic gold medals, World Champion title and five European Champion titles in her pocket make Elena Kaliska one of the greatest canoe slalom paddlers of all times. She spent winter training in Australia and returned to Europe just about when the pandemic hit the continent.

 

“On March 12, I arrived from a traditional training camp in Penrith, Australia, of which I have great memories. After all, it was there that I won my only individual World Champion title in 2005. I was lucky to get to Slovakia on the twelfth. The next day, stricter rules began to apply that every person must return to two-week quarantine after returning from abroad. So I didn't have to be in it, but I decided not to take any risks so as not to infect someone, so I stayed locked at home alone for two weeks. I managed the voluntary quarantine just fine. In addition to training, I had enough free time, so I read books, seen a lot of movies and I also did crossword puzzles” said Kaliska.

She added, “I tried to train as much as possible so that I wouldn't completely fall out of what I did there after a demanding training in Australia. I've been there for six weeks. I also completed everything that we planned together with coach Peter Mraz. Whether on or off the wild water, so I'm very happy with this part of the training. Of course, the conditions for training at home were far from ideal, but if you want, you will always find something with which you can keep at least in such a condition.”

 

Practically majority of the season has been cancelled, some sporting events postponed, Olympic Games among them, “To be honest, at this point, no one in the world can predict when all this bad things will end. It was the expected news. In the first place must be the health of all people, whether organizers, athletes, referees, officials, but also spectators who were going to Japan in very large numbers. Under these circumstances, I really can't imagine that so many people would come together in one place at once.”

 

After last season Kaliska was out of equation to participate at the Olympic Games (with Mintalova and Dukatova fighting for a Olympic spot), but she still finds the trills in competitions, “Even if I no longer have a chance to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, I still have a goal to show on the wild water that, despite my age, I am still able to keep up with much younger competitors. I feel completely well, so I can't wait for wild water training. This is my life.”