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Tužne vesti iz Amerike: Bivši reprezentativac Srbije izvršio samoubistvo (foto)

A. J.

Nekadašnji član bob tima SAD-a i reprezentacije Srbije Pavle Jovanović je izvršio samoubistvo. Informaciju je potvrdio i njegov nekadašnji kolega Stiv Mesler.

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Pav, I can’t believe another one of these needs to be written. I can’t believe it’s you I’m writing this about. My personal legend – the athlete that set the standard for focus, dedication, meticulousness, and drive – tragically took his own life at the age of 43. You won’t have to keep going to the line with that hamstring torn in half anymore, buddy. We’ll make sure your brother, your sister, & your parents know the person and athlete you were. @TeamUSA's Pavle Jovanovic (‘77-‘20) for 6 years was the best bobsledder on the planet and I wanted to be just like him. We did everything together – from sushi in Calgary to poker in Innsbruck to wind tunnels in Maryland and too many World Cup medals to count all over the world. Together with @billschuffenhauer, B-Rock, Hays or Holcy & our coach @fingermash, we were unstoppable. When Pav was removed from the ‘02 Olympic Team by USADA & CAS, I benefitted. That guilt laid with me until Pav became my roommate, teammate, and for quite some time, my best friend. He alleviated me of the guilt, even as he fought in lawsuits (and won) to clear his name. But he buried it deep and put it on himself. Then we went to the '06 @olympics, together. Pav was the best teammate anyone ever had. He knew your success would mean his success. He taught me that. He taught me to care about my teammates' sleep, nutrition, therapy, & work ethic in the gym and behind closed doors just as much as I cared about my own. He taught me about the need for being mentally healthy – not for life, but for athletic success. And that may have been part of his downfall. What happens when the person who is best known as being 150% focused or nothing– finds the nothing becoming what they become 150% focused on? In the last era without social media to show everyone how hard you were working; when the only time an outsider understood the work you put in was when you crossed the line on raceday – Pavle was King. He WAS the standard. Today we mourn the second bobsled Olympian in the last three years. Today I mourn the second of the six men I competed at the Olympics for my country with to be laid to rest too soon. 'Bro', that’s a problem.

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– Pav, ne mogu da verujem da ovo pišem o tebi. Moja lična legenda, čovek koji je u ovom sportu postavio standarde posvećenosti, koncentracije, truda i pažnje detaljima je tragično oduzeo sebi život u 43. godini. Ne brini, brate, postaraćemo se da tvoja sestra, brat i roditelji znaju kakav si bio kao čovek i sportista – napisao je Mesler.

Mesler je biranim rečima pričao o Pavlu.

– Bio je jedan od najboljih u ovom sportu na svetu, želeo sam da budem baš kao on. Sve smo radili zajedno, od sušija u Kalgariju, pokera u Insbruku, do vetrovitih tunela u Merilendu i mnogo medalja sa Svetskih prvenstava i takmičenja širom sveta. Zajedno sa ostatkom tima smo bili nezaustavljivi. Kada su ga sklonili iz Olimpijskog tima 2002. godine, ja sam najviše profitirao. Osećao sam veliku krivicu dok mi Pav nije postao cimer i kasnije najbolji prijatelj. Oslobodio me krivice i čak se borio u tužbi koju je dobio kako bi očistio svoje ime, ali je sve to prebacio na sebe.

Prisetio se Igara 2006. godine.

– Pav je bio najbolji kolega kog ste mogli da imate. Znao je da vaš uspeh znači i njegov uspeh, to me je naučio. Naučio me je da brinem o svojim kolegama, snu, ishrani, terapiji, radnoj etici u teretani i o sebi. Naučio me je da je mentalno zdravlje neophodno kako u životu, tako i za uspeh sportista i možda je to bio ključ njegovog pada. U ovoj eri društvenih mreža je teško pokazati svima koliko naporno radite, ljudi to razumeju samo kada prođete cilj na dan trke. Pavle je bio kralj. On je bio standard.

Na kraju je imao srceparajuću poruku.

– Žalimo smrt drugog Olimpijca u poslednje tri godine. Drugog čoveka od nas šest koji smo predstavljali zemlju na Igrama koji nas je rano napustio. Brate, upravo to je problem – zaključio je Mesler.

Jovanović je 2004. osvojio bronzu sa Amerikancima u Nemačkoj, bio je deo tima na Olimpijskim igrama u Torinu 2006. godine, a od 2011. godine je počeo da predstavlja Srbiju.

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