Slaven DIZDAREVIĆ (SVK)
Olympian Artist – Painting, photography: Tokyo 2020
Track and field athlete Slaven Dizdarević was born in Sarajevo and spent most of his childhood in what had been the Olympic Village, where his family were given an apartment after the 1984 Winter Olympics.
At the age of 10, Dizdarević and his family moved to Slovakia, where he started training in track and field disciplines and also launched himself into art classes at school.
His talent for painting was first recognised during a national painting competition, and his sporting prowess came to the fore as he became junior national champion in the high jump. In 2008 in Beijing, Dizdarević became the first Slovak decathlete to participate in the Olympic Games. He holds several national titles in the decathlon, high jump and hurdle sprints. Slaven Dizdarević now lives and works between Lausanne and Gstaad, Switzerland, where he is a sports coach, and has also fully transitioned into being a painter and photographer.
ARTISTIC PROJECT
CELEBRATING THE GAMES
NEW SPORTS
THE OLYMPIC VALUES
PROTECTION
DETERMINATION
ALL TOGETHER
Questions and answers
What does being an Olympian or Paralympian mean to you personally? How does it define your approach to life and how you view yourself and the world?
To me, being an Olympian means having the chance to inspire people around me and bring them the same joy and passion that the journey to becoming an Olympian brought to me. In my work as a sports coach, I feel a responsibility to be a good ambassador of the Olympic values, especially when working with younger generations.
When we talk about “Olympic culture”, what does that mean to you?
For me, Olympic culture means the long-term legacy that Olympism leaves behind, living the Olympic values in your daily life and carrying yourself like an athlete on the sports field, and off it. And this culture is exactly what defines Olympism, reaching beyond sports competitions. The Olympic Games unite people across the globe and inspire us to share joy and passion with the whole world through art-based and educational activities as well as sports competition. The Games inspire young generations and motivate them to lead better lives.
If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Relax, everything will be alright.
Are there parallels in your approach to your art and your approach to your sport? Or do you find that the two dimensions bring/brought out totally different sides of your personality?
My approach to sport and art is very similar and, many times, the same. Both art and sport bring out the same intensity and desire in me to improve, which is a necessary obsession to have in order to reach my goals, have the ability to overcome obstacles in my journey and stay focused. Experiencing an altered state of mind and entering a “flow state” are both prominent features of both activities.
meet the artists
Olympian artists at Tokyo 2020