Nenad Miković, a coach for children’s kayaking on the Tamiš river who was nearly killed along with his team, has become a world champion in the veteran’s marathon kayaking championship. He won the gold despite a shoulder injury sustained from the attacking scooter rider.
The World Championship for veteran canoeists is being held in the Hungarian city of Győr. In a field of 33 competitors in the 10.5-kilometer race, Miković, a member of the “Pančevo” Canoe-Kayak Club, won the gold medal with a time of 1:02:46.
Branislav Barašević took second place (1:05:07), and Argentinean Roberto Palacios finished third (1:08:20). The success is even greater considering that Miković came to the competition injured: his shoulder still hurts from the impact he suffered during the attack in Pančevo.
“No Giving Up, No Surrender”
“The race was very difficult and uncertain. In the first lap, the Argentinean who was following me had a bad turn, which I used to create a gap that I managed to maintain until the end. It was extremely physically demanding because I can feel the shoulder injury after everything that happened to me, but I managed to endure until the end and win the gold medal,” Miković stated.
In the end, he added a message that best describes his strength and persistence: “It’s difficult, it’s painful, but there is no giving up, no surrender.”
As a reminder, during a training session of the “Pančevo” Canoe-Kayak Club on the Tamiš river this August, a horrific incident occurred when a man on a scooter drove into a group of eleven children and their coach Nenad Miković, overturning their boat and injuring six children. Miković tried to protect them, but the attacker repeatedly ran the scooter over his SUP board and head, cursed at him, and continued to rage on the river. The police later apprehended him and filed a criminal complaint against him for causing a public danger, while sports federations sharply condemned the attack and demanded stricter safety measures on the waterways.
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Source: 013.info.rs / Serbian Times, Foto: Printscreen Instagram @shone_sup_canoe