Source: Sport Geza | Translation: Frank SzekSzardi - Hungary’s most successful athlete Katalin Kovacs has given birth nine months ago. She's in training camp in Abu Dhabi collecting kilometers at the moment. She's preparing for the World Championships and at the same time she's also planning ahead for the Rio Olympics.

“Only three days after leaving the hospital I was asked straight up if I'll go double with Natasha. I can only say don't get ahead of ourselves just yet. Not because I'm being cautious, I'm thinking of the nature and pace of life. In this sport nothing is natural and obvious. Nothing is given for free and you don't have the cards dealt for you before the season. When I used to paddle the single I fought for it every single day! It wasn't obvious or granted that I'd have the spot while Kinga Bota and Szilvia Szabó would have the double… We fought our battles every single session, the competition was just extreme… The way it should be.”

They both want to do the double, yet Kovacs can't see it clear how much they would have to rearrange their lives for being able to do it. Right now Janics is in Mexico and Kovacs is in Abu Dhabi and they will only get to know something about the double in April.

“It's an honor that some people are thinking that we are already qualified for the World Championships. We must fight for it that's why I'm doing everything that is possible to reach it. I paddle 30 kms daily or run and lift weights “

Always do what you believe in and always believe in what you do!

Kovacs described her philosophy just before the 2012 London Olympics. Then she won another gold medal in the K4 and next to the other 3 gold medals she also has 5 silver medals from Olympic Games. She lives her life according to her motto. There's no active athlete that is more successful than her in Hungary. She's has an admirable sport career behind her, she's 31 times World champion as we know it. She's holding a record in the entire Hungarian history of sport and she's still got new goals front of her. Despite she missed out on the last year in paddling, she doesn't like the word ‘return’ and she explains it quickly why..

“For me the term ‘return’ means that you have once retired. But I've never retired, never even meant it to. Because I believe that in the ‘retirement’ there must be touch of negative load. Botond Storcz returned or Zsolt Gyulay because they got shifted away from the sport but then they changed their minds. It'd be a shame to deny it that I had Olympic Games when I wanted to retire afterwards but now I'm just loving to paddle.

I had the most amazing experience of my life, I had the blessing of pregnancy then I gave life to an adorable little girl in the summer… And then I just wanted to continue paddling. So I had a detour and now I'm here in the training camp! “

Getting stronger day by day

“This training camp is different from the last one. When we were here last autumn it wasn't always good. I got really exhausted after giving birth, my muscles just didn't work the same way, my whole body acted differently from how it used to. Now I'm slowly gaining my power, my shape and the technics back. It's a bit weird to say after so many years but here I have a chance again to readjust the basics to perfection. I'm getting stronger day by day and that was my primary plan. I couldn't wait to do time trials with Tamara Csipes. I just got an unbeatable racing spirit in me. However I didn't achieve what I expected at the last time trial so that shows there are still a lot to do here.”

The 39 years old Katalin Kovacs is motivated every day and she's constantly seeking new challenges. There's only one good answer to this question, that she's deeply in love with KAYAKING with capital letters. She's full of passion anytime she talks about and it’s paired with a big smile on her face.

She's often being reminded how many things she had to sacrifice for this passion and success.

“Okay, that's true, but no body forced me with a gun saying that kayaking is my obligation. I just simply love it. Even if I had days when I throughly hated the hard training but if I sum it up I get a very very positive image. I'm sure there are people in different areas of life that love their jobs and look for new challenges after a hard but successful project. It's the same with us, we are not much different. We train because that's our job. You know, they can say what am I doing here at this age but my life is kayaking!”

She recently saw it in the newspaper that the World Championship will be held in Milano just after the Hungarian National day at the end of August. She's not planning so far ahead though, there are still two more training camps to attend, one in Szeged and one in Szolnok.

Just one more thought about the motivation…

Kovacs is still as motivated as she was 15-20 years ago. Her mum once told her when she was about to finish high school: whatever you end up doing in your life it's only worth it if you do it with 100%.. And she wouldn't give it anything less.

If she would have ever given up on a single task during the hardest part of the preparation she would have only thought: if I won't win in few months time I'd be the only one to blame for not fully committing to the training..

Real example: “if in the gym we had to do 300 reps but at the last 50 I could barely lift the weight it just came into me. Even if the whole world would turn up side down I'm still gonna make it!”

That's self control and gaining power from her own mind took her to the point that there was no chance that she'd give up any given task!

The little girl –

After Luca arrived she had to get used to a different routine and mindset. When she had one day that she couldn't tick off everything she had on her schedule she almost went crazy. In times like this her partner Adam told her not to be so strict on herself.  She even finds it suspicious when her coach (Ferenc Csipes) let the last effort go of the session because they worked hard enough already.

“Perhaps he thinks that I can't make it? It makes me feel handicapped.. I might pushed the session real hard but still he shouldn't feel sorry for me because it could be quiet likely that for the victory we need that extra 2000m and I want to win with no compromise. My goals are to become better day by day.”

When she hears that someone started paddle because of her it really touches her and she's a real role model. In fact there should be a large number of people by now since she already was at the Olympics in 2000.

“Hard to find the words when it happens… There are pains that go straight to the bones, well this one’s the total opposite. It is the absolute amazing, mind blowing and indescribable euphoria of the soul.”

When I brought it up that I felt sorry for her after the Olympics in 2008, she responded with a smile. She was fined by her old club MTK because she preferred and supported Janics instead of her club mate.

“Time solves everything. I can't think of it negative anymore. It was a terrible experience at the time indeed but there were way more important things in life. Everything changes. I thought I'd never speak to Kati Neni ever again after the separation and see, it just happened that I talked to her one morning.”

So this coming World Championship could be the first one when your daughter can watch you too.

“I don't like the naysayers or if they feel sorry for me. Let's take an average person for example. I'm sure it happens to others as well that they have to leave their families for weeks and they still have a job where they have to perform.

I miss them of course, I love to skype with them and I can't wait to hug my daughter and tell her tales. At the other hand I have my kayak life which I don't want to give up because if I do I'd lose myself.  Only because someone has serious goals it doesn't make her a bad mother. To wrap my arms around her after achieving a big success would fill my heart with the greatest happiness. I want this experience, I want this feeling! “