Interview

Hello Miško, we are very pleased that you have accepted our invitation for an interview for the publication Run and Smile.

We know you from our shared training sessions as an exceptionally diligent and highly reliable person. You are our role model when it comes to sports ethics, but also a great source of knowledge and inspirational ideas.

Discussions with you are always fruitful, so we are even more excited about today's interview. The floor is yours!

1. Miško and sports – how would you characterize yourself from this perspective?

Since my youth, I have been an enthusiastic sports fan and athlete.

2. We have chosen you for our publication as the face for the field of SCIENCE. How do you perceive the connection between these two worlds?

From my perspective, it fits excellently. I have been dealing with inventions and discoveries in the field of chemistry and pharmacy all my life. Practically every day, I had a new invention from various parts of the world in my hands, which I had to evaluate, or develop a patent application for and defend it or solve its practical use, including addressing any disputes related to it. I studied organic chemistry and technology at the Technical University in Bratislava and subsequently law at the university. Both were immensely useful in my work. Sport taught me that improvement in performance comes only through systematic training and perseverance, regardless of what performance level you are at. And in the profession, continuous education is necessary, an effort to understand new solutions, and training resilience to stress.

3. Did sports and physical activities have an impact and influence on your work?

The daily stress and 60-70 hours of work per week brought the need for certain compensation, and morning runs were greatly helpful for over forty years. Occasional participation in running races allowed me to meet other people besides researchers and inventors and at the same time compete with friends, peers, or even myself. From a certain age, of course, I could not improve anymore, so maintaining performance or a slight slowdown was satisfying.

4. What significance does sport have in your life? What does sport mean to you?

Sport is pat of my lifestyle; I introduced it to my son, and now also to my grandchildren. Watching races in athletics, swimming, and of course in ball games, especially in football, has always brought me joy, although I had little free time. Now, in my advanced retirement age, it is much better with free time, so I can watch, but I must approach my own sports activities more cautiously. Health does not let go.

5. Could you tell us how you entered the world of sports?

I used to live opposite the presidential garden, which used to be full of various playgrounds where I spent several hours daily after coming home from school. I played football every day, not even snow in winter was an obstacle; there was also athletics track and a swimming pool. From the age of ten, I started competitive swimming in Slovan Bratislava. Until the end of November, we trained in an open pool, in winter already in the old Grossling pool.

I managed it until I was seventeen when I realized that weekly 12 swimming training sessions and 2-3 dryland sessions were no longer manageable health-wise. Today, I know that elite training is not for everyone, but only for exceptionally physically gifted people who should also see regular improvement. Although I was in the pool 3-4 times a week during college, I was more involved in teaching swimming to students. I used to joke that when evaluating my sports performance, I was probably the best runner among swimmers and the best swimmer among runners when I occasionally got mixed up among athletes.

6. Miško and sports competitions – which sports competitions do you consider the peak of your sporting career so far?

An enthusiastic amateur in swimming and running probably should not talk about peaks in their sports career, rather about a good feeling after finishing races, sometimes not immediately, for example after finishing a marathon, and occasionally I was satisfied with the achieved time. Fifteen completed marathons are not many, but the satisfaction after finishing several major marathons in Košice and Budapest will stay with me for a long time. After the revolution in 1989, I still ran regularly, but it was not enough training to complete marathons, so I only participated in shorter races, at most half marathons.

7. In your opinion, what is the essence of inclusion through sports?

By inclusion through sports, I imagine an effort to attract to sports those groups of children and adults whose access to sports is limited or disadvantaged for any reason. For children, it is primarily children from minorities and from socially disadvantaged population groups.

We should not forget about our disabled fellow citizens, whether children or adults. I still believe that in mass sports, quantity is more important than quality. The more people we get involved in regular sports, the better it is for society.

Sports facilities for mass sports should exist everywhere, whether in villages or cities. We only need elite sports where appropriate conditions exist, i.e., a sufficiently broad base of athletes in a given sport and established facilities and clubs with continuous support from public funds.

8. If you had to name three values that sports have taught you, what would they be? Why?

Perseverance and a strong will to overcome obstacles and willingness to explore one's own limits. Competitiveness and adherence to fair play. The journey is the goal, not just the results. Furthermore, it is functioning in a sports team - respect for other athletes and coaches. These and similar values ​​need to be adopted before reaching adulthood, adhered to in the productive age, and passed on to one's family.

9. Which sports values are close to you? How has sports influenced you the most?

Those that I mentioned above. Through regular sports, one meets many people from various professions, and communication with them and shared experiences have pleased me and significantly enriched me.

Even though one doesn't think about it during the work process, meetings with people during sports are extremely important even in retirement because it fills the void left by daily work contacts.

10. Do you currently have any specific sports challenges?

I certainly do not have any sports challenges anymore, but I try to slow down mental and physical decline through movement, which is also a quite ambitious goal. Simply put, I try to have as many relaxing days as possible.

11. What has sports given you besides the sport itself?

Professionally and privately, I have visited many countries, and practically in each one, I have been interested in the conditions for sports in schools from elementary through high schools to universities and how they are financed.

I was particularly interested in various support for athletes at universities, including foreigners studying at these schools. It certainly helped me to gain a more truthful picture of life in many countries. Today, when I have more free time, I am interested in following sports management and the influence of PR and mass media on the development of sports in society.

12. In conclusion of our interview, I would like to ask you, what is your opinion on the current sports program of the European Union? What else should the European Union do to encourage more young people to adopt sports as a lifestyle?

The European Union should lead member states to more significant support for physical education and youth sports in schools of all levels and at the community level in towns and municipalities. And project proposals should be linked to projects aimed at monitoring the health status of children and youth, so that even less understanding local politicians see a direct connection between youth sports and improving their health and that investing in sports support will definitely pay off.