Sara Isakovič, a former Slovenian swimmer, who won the Olympic silver medal in Beijing 2008, is combining her experience a top athlete with knowledge that she gained during her studies of psychology in order to pursue her new career as an entrepreneur.
The Slovenian public knows Sara Isaković primarily as a swimmer who is always smiling and a three-time Olympian who won a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Games. Next year, when she turns 30, a decade will have passed since her sports zenith. This time, the guest of Sportal’s Saturday interview, who calls Dubai her home, has already swam well into new waters. Already during her swimming career, she began flirting with psychology in the United States. She worked as an assistant in a laboratory in San Diego, where she researched the brains of marines and Olympians, and after completing her master’s degree, in recent years she worked in “performance” psychology in Dubai. Now a new challenge awaits her. In Oslo.
We caught you during a short stopover in Bled during your move from Dubai to Oslo. A new business challenge?
I travel the world all the time. It seems now is time for a change again. My life is changing again. I move from one extreme to another. Yes, it’s a new challenge, working at the Fitsmind startup. We will deal with a combination of physical and mental training. It all happened by chance. Those responsible for the project came across a “podcast” in which I talk about sports psychology and competitive experiences. Then they contacted me and convinced me.
From hot Dubai to cold Oslo…
I find myself in different environments. Dubai will always be my home. I can go back there anytime, but I couldn’t take on this project half-heartedly, so I decided to move.
What will you actually do in Norway?
We will work on three levels. A training application is being prepared. The second level will be lectures and online courses, and the third will be organized adventures around the Arctic. These are boat trips with fjord, whale and northern lights tours that also include exercise and psychology. My task is to take care of the psychological program, but I am not only interested in a program of a few months, but in the way of life.