18 September 2010 - Justyna MOSPINEK (POL): "I think that I am on a good way already”

Justyna MOSPINEK (POL): "I think that I am on a good way already” Edinburgh – 19 September 2010   She has been performing so well throughout the season that she has won the Longines Prize for Precision. Justyna MOSPINEK (POL), who won the 2008 Archery World Cup Final, made her second appearance at this level in Edinburgh.  Poland's Justyna MOSPINEK entered the world of archery at a very young age in Zgierz, Poland. Archery was just one of the programmes offered by her primary school. According to her, any child from this primary school could have been able to start a career in archery because the teacher simply did offer a great programme. He would invite any interested person to come and practice. MOSPINEK went to such a training, started shooting and from the first moment she enjoyed it. At the age of 14 she started travelling and competing in different competitions.   Justyna, how special is it to win the Longines Prize for Precision 2010 in recurve women? It is very special because it rewards the athlete who was the most consistent during the whole 2010 World Cup season. I am thrilled that I won it and of course thankful to Longines for the trophy, the watch and the 5,000 CHF cheque!   How did you enjoy Edinburgh? How do you like Scotland? Edinburgh, and actually the whole Great Britain as well as Scotland fascinate me with all of their monuments, all the beautiful landscapes. In Poland after the two World Wars we simply do not have any such buildings. In Warsaw everything had to be rebuilt. In Edinburgh there is a lot to see and visit.   Talking about the temperature, well, it is obviously colder than in Poland right now. It could be a little warmer, but that’s okay. And of course the wind is quite disturbing. But on the other hand we look at it in the way that every competing person has to deal with the same weather conditions. My contender stands behind me or in front of me and has to hold her bow and arrow in just the same way as I do and has to shoot under the same conditions.   Could you please share with us your history in archery? I started at a very young age. The primary school I was going to was offering a programme for interested students. The teacher invited anybody who was interested to come and try it. I went to such training, tried to shoot and started enjoying it. I had some successful, and at the age of about 14 I started travelling with my uncle to different places. Of course, we also had some arguments, because he told me once that if I would work on my training I would have good chances to travel around the world, around Europe to compete in different matches, to get to know new people and different languages. And, basically, this is exactly what happened; as since the year 2000, actually even from 1999, I started travelling for the first international competitions. And for 10 years now, I have been participating, improving and, basically, I have not dropped out even once since then. Slowly I keep making my way up to the top.   What kind of feeling is it to travel around the world in such a way? When you are young and still go to school and later on to the university, it is really nice. But later to make sure that you will like it, you need to be some kind of voyager; because after all, finally nobody will return to me all the time I spend in airplanes.   If you would have asked that question four years ago I would have probably replied that it’s really nice; yes, even great! I would have probably advised you strongly to choose nothing but sport and to join competitions. But since I’ve been travelling for so long already, now slowly I would like to settle down and find a special form of stabilisation. The journeys are not that great anymore.   Of course, every journey is also different from the others. Sometimes we travel to a well-known city in Europe, Africa or Asia and we may even visit the city. We get a map and we can have a look around. Usually we do not have the time to have a look at museums. We do not have time for that. Usually, our competition takes all our time from the first day until the very last day; and we also do not have the possibility to stay there for few more days. It has already been a week and everybody wants to get back to their families, their interests and to their training. After all, when the competitions end the entire training possibilities end as well. We have got strict training programmes and we cannot simply go for holidays whenever we wish. But, I can only advice you to try it. It is a great experience. Generally, it’s a great possibility to get to know interesting people, to have a look at the world and everything around it from a different perspective. Every country, and even every region, is different from Poland. Everything is different. You can read something in the newspaper and then see the truth by yourself.         Do you have any special wishes or goals to achieve for this match? What kind of wishes could I have? I believe that I am going to win. That’s the most important thing. Everybody, well, probably not everybody but most people, have families, friends and coaches here. And I know that all my family and friends simply believe in me. They want me to win the World Cup Final for the second time. Since I started competing no other person has been able to gain this achievement. Each time somebody else is the winner. I know that it won’t be easy. Above concentration and good shooting, it always also takes a little of luck. That is something that annoys me.   What would you do to improve your style? It’s definitely possible, but I think I already shoot very well. Apart from the fact that sometimes the emotions and thoughts simply switch off. That’s sometimes a main problem. It is really difficult to mobilise in moments of stress. I think that I am on a good way, already.    What do you think about the new Final format of letting eight people into the event instead of four? It is definitely more difficult but also more interesting. As before only four people could join the Final, the prize had to be shared between them. All people got a prize for taking part in the Final. Now it is eight people and you can still leave the competition without a prize even though you reached the Final.    Do you have any special wishes for the future? Anything you would like to achieve? I want to win the World Cup Final. The Olympic Games are not a goal of mine. Maybe I would like to join the World Cup Final next year, but that is something I do not know at the moment.   Do you think you will stay in this sport? I do not know. I do not say yes and I do not say no. I have to wait for the actual development of myself, my life and this sport. The development of my situation will show me how to move on.   Katharina DZIACKO World Archery Communication