All right, everyone. Welcome back to the All Think Croatia podcast.
This is now season three.
Super excited for this season.
We had a lot of great guests in the past.
So go ahead and check out those episodes if you haven't yet.
Make sure to subscribe on YouTube or Spotify, Apple podcast, wherever you're listening or watching.
Today's episode, we have two great guests, twin sisters, Ivana and Josipa Jovkovic.
They are some of Croatia's best rowers being European and World U-23 champions.
Ivana was Miss Sport Croatia in 2018 and both her and Josipa are in the Croatian Army Reserves.
Ivana, Josipa, thank you guys for coming on the podcast.
Thank you for calling us.
Yeah, of course.
Very excited to talk to you guys.
And I know you guys are from Korčula.
And so I want to hear a little bit about that.
You know, can you tell us a little bit about where you're from on Korčula and growing up?
Yeah, we are originally from Korčula, from small town Vela Luka.
And basically we started there with our rowing career and we rowed there for eight years.
And after that, when we went to the Junior World Championships, we got a call from the rowing club Trešnjewka.
And then we moved to Zagreb.
So, yeah, basically our life there was awesome.
But now we just move here and that's it, basically.
Well, I want to ask sort of about life as a kid on Korčula, because I mean, for me, it sounds like a dream, you know, growing up, you're there near the beach and beautiful weather and you're on an island.
I mean, what was that like?
Yeah, growing up in Korčula is, in my opinion, much better than a city.
Yeah, it is indeed.
So when you are a kid, they are awesome because you can freely go out and play around and do stuff that you can do in the town, you know, because it's less.
Everyone knows everyone.
And we were outside playing all day and there's no mobile phone like today.
So we are much more enjoying the play than the kids now.
Yeah.
And you also can go freely outside and be safe everywhere.
And you can do the same thing in the town.
So and everything was close, like everything from A to B is like five minutes.
And here in town, everything is half an hour plus.
Yeah. Yeah.
To me, that's like I would watch a movie about something like that and think, oh, man, those were the good old days.
You know, for me, growing up in Los Angeles, I feel like I had a completely opposite upbringing than you guys on Korčula.
That's awesome.
Yeah, I think the Korčula is the smallest, like 10 times like Los Angeles.
So, yeah. But to be clear, we are from Korčula, but from the town of Veloluka.
Veloluka. Yeah.
I don't think I've been to Korčula a few times, but I forget which is the main town on the, what is it, the Jadrolinja.
I forget where that lands there.
Yeah. Did you hear about Oliver Dragojević?
He's a famous singer. He wasn't a famous singer.
He is from Veloluka.
Oh, really? I didn't know that. I always thought he was from Split.
I guess he just lived in Split.
Yeah, he lived in Split because of his career, but originally he's from Veloluka.
I didn't know that. See, I'm learning things on this podcast.
That's awesome. Well, so how did you guys go from, you know, kids in Korčula, Veloluka and playing and everything, and then you end up rowing?
How did you get started rowing?
We trained handball for four years, and in the fifth grade, our friend came to us and invited us to one training of rowing.
And that was super funny for us because we are rowed at sea, and we also like everything about rowing.
Well, so you guys are twins. Does that help you at all while you're rowing, do you think?
You know, it's some good things and some bad things because when you need to tell something, I can freely tell her everything I feel in that moment.
And if I row with somebody else, maybe I will think twice what to say, you know, and I can say to her everything that maybe bothered me or stuff like that.
But, you know, when you do some big things with your family, that's experienced. You can't imagine anything better than that.
So, yeah, the family bond is really strong. And it's we are really grateful that we can do all those things together.
Yeah. Yeah. And so you're talking without a filter, basically.
Yeah, something like that.
Yeah, it could be good and bad. I agree. I have I'm not a twin, but I have siblings of my own.
So you know how it is. Yeah, definitely. I talk to them differently than I would talk to someone else.
So what does your guy well, I want to ask you about the training, but also I want to ask about, you know, rowing.
You guys have had some really successful moments in rowing and a successful career so far.
And I sort of want to ask about those accomplishments and what's been sort of your proudest moment in rowing.
For me, one of the best moments in rowing was in 2022 at the awards in Ratchitsiad when my sister and I won the final of the awards and history for our country,
because that was five months before after my surgery, hip surgery. And rowing in Croatia for women is very unknown.
And therefore we wanted to prove that as a woman our words. So we we tried to prove that the woman has also power to.
So basically, I think you should want to say that women can also say some things that can take really strong effort on someone else there.
And that is not just the men's sport. And to be in the senior final as a first year senior is something that cannot be described for me.
That's awesome. Yeah. Ivana, do you have a favorite moment as well?
Yeah, I have it. It's that I think my favorite moment was when we were as European under 23 championships and there we rowed against girls who that year went on to the Olympics,
the Olympics games at the Tokyo and we beat them. So, yeah, we were there. We took a goal.
So that's my favorite moment because one month before the Europeans, our speed was much, much slower than we rode like two months before that.
And we couldn't know what the reason is. And we do all things like we we are doing as the as the beginning.
But we can solve that problem, you know, and we went there and just do some free really good races.
And that's it. We beat the girls who went to the Olympics.
Wow. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, I mean, speaking about the Olympics, they're coming up here in 2024 in Paris.
And I wanted to ask, what does that look like for you guys in terms of preparing and with qualifying and everything?
How does that work? We are doing everything the same as last year only on the higher level.
So we set some goals that we have to achieve at XK. Sorry, our dog is barking. No problem.
No problem. To pay which is good motivation for us and for some progress.
Now we will have a free rowing camp before that final qualification regatta.
And the season will start with the first World Cup in Varese, then the European is second, which will improve our form.
And after that, the final qualifying regatta in Lutsen.
And there we must be in two first places for the Olympic tickets.
So we are going for the first place. Yeah, it will be tough, but I think we can manage that.
What month is that final qualifying? May. May. May. May. May.
Wow. So that's the big day to make sure that you guys come in first and then it's off to Paris after that.
Cross the fingers. Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaking about training specifically, what sort of I mean, other than, of course, you know, you guys are rowing, I'm sure.
But is there anything else you were doing training wise, either in the gym or do you run or anything like that?
Yeah, basically, we do all stuff that can improve our condition.
You know, like we do a lot of running, a lot of cycling.
We do free time per week, a gym.
And basically that's it. We do all the stuff to improve our health, our physics.
Yeah, we are doing some 18 to 21 hours per week of training. Yeah.
Wow. Yeah, that's a lot. And in the season, it's like 14 to 16 because we do a little bit more of a higher intensity of trainings.
With less hours. Yeah, that makes sense. Wow. Yeah, that's a lot of hours.
Do you guys listen to any music while you're training? You mentioned Oliver, but probably you're not listening to Oliver.
No, no, no. Oliver is like for when you take a rest, you can for the free time and lay on the couch.
For the lagganini.
When we are on the training, we basically listen to everything that can boost us.
Anything in particular?
Do you know about craze and trash music? I don't know how to say it in English, but I like trash music.
Is that like Grishy or is that like Turbo Folk?
No, no, no, no. Our coach doesn't like Turbo Folk.
Yeah, so he put some... Do you ever heard about magazine?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. Basically, I can pick some of them.
Okay. Yeah, those are great. I know I saw I think magazine performed for the at the dorms.
Yep. On the radio over there last year. They have that one. Yeah, that was fun. That's a lot of fun there.
And we are listening to Guns N' Roses and Ladybug. Yeah, stuff like that.
Okay, cool. Yeah, that's my kind of music as well. That sort of rock metal a little bit.
Yeah. Okay, cool, cool.
You know, one more thing sort of about being an athlete and everything like that before I move on.
You know, I want to ask you guys about being a part of the Croatian army and what that looks like.
But as far as other Croatian athletes, you know, are you guys...
What other Croatian athletes are you guys big fans of or friends with or look up to?
We are first of all big fans of Sinkovic brothers because we are friends with them
and they are always there for us if we need them.
Some of my biggest idol is Janica Kostelic. I have a few, but Sinkovic and Janica is the best.
Yeah, and the Sinkovic brothers are really supportive to us.
So when the bad things happened to us last year at the World Championships,
when we lost that ticket for Olympics, they were there for us and everything we need we can ask them about.
And they are really good example how that the famous athlete can be also really supportive
and really good to someone who gets their dreams and stuff like that.
That's awesome that you guys support each other. Are they twins as well or just brothers? I forget.
Just brothers. One year gap between them.
Okay, so you guys are the only twins then?
And we have long-term brothers as well.
That's right. Interesting how in Croatian rowing you have brothers and sisters.
Yeah, they are our main secret to success.
Well, speaking of big sisters and twins and doing everything together,
you guys are both reserves in the Croatian army. I thought that was interesting because that's sort of...
I don't know, I feel like the first time that I've heard about Croatian athletes, I'm also being in the reserves.
Tell me a little bit about that. Why did you guys decide to enlist in that and how did that happen?
Our Olympic comic has some deal with the military.
And when they call us and ask us if we want to go and serve that two months of military service,
we accept that because most of other famous athletes went there as well with us.
And after that service, we came home and every manifestation or any other event,
we need to come on it and also we represent our country and army on every championship.
So basically we do all things they ask us and also they really helped us financially.
So we can live a little bit colder and safer.
Because in rowing, you start rowing because that's what we love and not because of money.
It's not like football or any other famous sport. So yeah, basically they really helped us.
And that experience was really good as well because you can learn something you couldn't even imagine.
Some friends, some good people. Yeah, it's a really good experience for life.
That's awesome. Yeah. So you had two months of training and then you participate in certain events and things as well.
Yeah, when they call us, we need to be there. It's our duty to be there.
What did that training look like for that?
You need to do some tactical moves and also you need to learn a lot how to use a gun or any other weapon.
And you know, it's a sort of more exercises and you need to go through them for two months.
And also you have like ET and you need to do a lot of running, a lot of other exercise because you need to be prepared.
You cannot go there and when they ask you about to go like run for three kilometers, you cannot run that.
So basically you can take your stuff and go back home. Yeah.
Yeah, our day there started at six o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock at the evening.
Wow. So would you guys recommend that experience and doing that to other people?
Yeah, yeah, that's for sure, because you can learn a lot about discipline and some stuff that you can learn in private
and to learn to take care about yourself without mom or dad or anyone.
Yeah, to be clear, we don't support any war because I think we live in the 21st century and that's really not necessary to do.
But to learn something like, Jostipa also mentioned it, like discipline or taking care about yourself.
I think that's really great and you can learn a lot and you can also learn a lot about yourself there as well.
Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, definitely a lot of good skills that you can transfer over to rowing as well.
But of course, just your life, personal life in general and being disciplined and things like that.
That's awesome. I have a before I go to the next question, I have a quick question for you guys.
What is your favorite food? I love baklava and pancakes and sushi as well.
From the salt one, I love sushi and of the sweets, baklava and pancakes are my favorites.
What do you put in the, when you say pancakes, you mean like palochenke, right? Like the thing.
Yes, I put everything in them, everything that I have at home.
Do you do Nutella or what's the Croatian one?
Linolada, Eurocrus.
I put what I have at home. If I have Nutella, I will put Nutella. If I have Linolada, I will put Linolada.
Everything that is sweet. And also some cookies because I need that scrunch note, you know.
The cookies inside the palochenke, you're saying?
Yeah, sure. And the ice cream on the side.
Oh wow. That's everything.
That's awesome. Yeah. Josipa, what's your favorite food?
My favorite food is my mom's lasagna.
Yeah, mom's cooking is always the best, right?
Oh, the best one. Yeah, but trust me, our mom's lasagna are really the best.
We try a lot of lasagnas at any restaurant and you will get it. You will eat one piece of that and three days you can't breathe.
It's that rich, huh?
Yeah, you don't have any more space in your stomach.
Wow.
And also for the sweets, I definitely like ice cream. Ice cream, I can eat ice cream all day.
What kind of ice cream?
Fruits.
Okay, like a strawberry.
Yeah, strawberry.
All right, yeah, yeah. I'm more of just a vanilla. I go plain every time.
But I feel like I need to start branching out now because everyone tells me, someone who told me, someone on the podcast that they really like the pistachio ice cream, I think in Dugrovnik somewhere.
But I've never tried that. I don't know. It sounds good though.
The pistachio was really awesome as well. The best.
Yeah, it just scares me with the color. Eating something green, green ice cream. I don't know.
Don't worry about it. Just try it and everything will be clear to you.
All right, I'll have to try it next time. I'll have to try it.
Well, I'm really happy that you guys took the time to come on the All Things Pro with your podcast here. I just saw you were just on TV a few hours ago, it looks like, on Hayarte. What was that like? How was that?
Also about the questioning about army and sports.
Same thing.
Yeah.
Did they ask any better questions than me? Any different questions?
No, you both ask us very similar questions.
That's good. That's nice that you guys had a practice round before the real interview here.
Yeah.
This is something to cap off this interview. This is something that I've asked everyone at the end of sort of every interview. But what do you guys makes Croatia or being Croatian special?
I think the tourism and sports are really good example of what Croatia is famous about. Because, you know, we are really small country, but we have a lot of big results in the sport.
And firstly, at the football, when they've done what they've done two years ago, everyone knows where is the Croatia. So that's the first point and the first goal.
And the people here are really great and really good. Our mentality, I think it's good. But also, you know, you have some strange people here and you have some strange people there when you live.
So I think we have a lot of benefits because our safety is really on a high level. And I think I can say that as well, if I move to America or Africa, to Johannesburg, Cape Town, towns like that, and here we really have a really beautiful nature.
And we have a lot of beautiful islands.
So basically, I think Croatia is really beautiful, but we have a lot of things to improve, you know.
Yeah, like any place there are good parts and bad parts. But yeah, definitely Croatia has got incredible islands, incredible scenery.
And incredible history as well.
Definitely. Josip, do you have anything to add on that?
I think Iman said everything.
Well, I want to thank you guys again so much for coming here on the podcast. I'm sure you've had a long day, so I'll let you guys get going.
But really appreciative and looking forward to what you guys are going to do and qualifying for Paris. And that's going to be really awesome. And I'm excited for you guys and looking forward to that.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And enjoy the rest of the day.
Thank you. You guys as well. Take care.