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Slovenia chartering plane to send fans to Rio Olympics

Xinhua, August 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Slovenian Olympic Committee will send a plane-full of sports fans to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics for cheering Slovenian athletes at the event live, local media reported Thursday.

Slovenian fans of the chartered plane will be headed by Olympic silver medalist Sara Isakovic, who said she was happy to take part in the Olympics, this time as one of the supporters.

This will be the third time the Slovenian Olympic Committee has organized a flight of fans to the Olympics. The first plane was sent to the 2012 Summer London Olympics and the second one to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

"We want to give fans a chance to support Slovenian athletes at the Olympics live and help them achieve better results. Compared to previous Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is farther from Slovenia, so athletes will appreciate hearing Slovenian cheers at the event even more," the committee said.

The 28-year-old Isakovic will head the team of supporters between Aug. 6 and 12. She won silver in the women's 200-metre freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning Slovenia's first medal at the event and its first ever Olympic medal in swimming. Isakovic said she wanted to share her experiences from the Beijing Olympics with the visiting fans and show them an Olympic athlete's way of life, in which, according to her, everything must be subjected to a strict schedule.

"I know how it goes and I'd like to pass that knowledge on. Few people realize how much effort is put into the Games and how that shows at the event itself," she was quoted by Slovenian Press Agency as saying.

The Slovenian fans will see the Olympic competitions in basketball, tennis, kayaking and judo, attend organized tours and, along with Isakovic, take part in a program of events organized just for fans. Enditem