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Now 22-year-old paddler, born in Novi Sad and member or Tarket club in Bačka Palanka, had an excellent season 2019 and after the season it was understandable that he pointed out in an interview he aims for the medal at Olympic Games. Not just any medal, a gold one.

 

 

“After winning second place in 2018 at U23 World Championships in Plovdiv and the same medal at U23 European Championships in Račice in 2019 and later in Szeged, I hope I will finally have gold around my neck,” said Strahinja in an interview for Sports magazine last October.

 

 

He did not only win his first medal at senior World Championships, but also obtained a quota for Olympic Games, “Even I do not know whether I was happier winning a medal or qualifying for the Olympic Games. I am very satisfied I did this for me and Serbian sport in general.”

 

 

And how he handles the pre-race stress? “During the preparation it is hard, because I know there is no room even for a tiny mistake at a race and that I have to put all the months' worth of work into a little over half a minute. I have my rituals to relax the best I can and it appears I have managed to use this pressure in a positive way,” said Strahinja who loves fishing in his free time.

 

 

And how did he get involved in canoeing? “The water relaxes me and I feel great in it. In this sport you are in a constant contact with water, so I think was decisive. I used to train football, but in time it became clear I will stay in canoeing. I came to the first training when I was 12 years old thanks to my brother, who was already involved with the sport. It was a love at first sight. So, the dilemma was soon gone because I started recording good results. It’s not hard to train two or three times daily on water and in a gym, where each training is 90 minutes long,” he also said.