Story by: ICF Media

Grappling with nerves, injuries and a lack of confidence, Jakub Grigar was beginning to hate the sport he had always adored.

After the highs of winning silver at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Grigar plummeted to the lows of undergoing surgery on both of his shoulders.

As his performances dipped so did his confidence levels as Grigar struggled to return to his best form.

“I haven’t had good results, and I haven’t been satisfied with my runs lately,” said the 28-year-old.

“There have been some huge mistakes that have cost me some better places, so I started to doubt myself a little bit.  

“I even hated the sport a little bit.”

As well as clinching Olympic silver in 2021, Grigar has enjoyed the success of capturing two world titles at U23 level and two silver team medals at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Championships.

But Grigar’s last victory at an ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup was in Markkleeberg in 2021 before being struck with injuries.

“I have been struggling for a few years,” said Grigar.  

“I had two surgeries in two years on both shoulders, with the right one in 2022 and left one in 2024.

“I also had two kids in one year, so it’s been pretty challenging for me to prepare for the races.”

His struggles have yet to go away as Grigar spoke of his fears heading into Friday’s short slalom event.

Grigar was unsure whether he could put himself on the startline before receiving a pep talk from his wife.

“I didn’t really feel good, I was actually quite scared in the morning,” said Grigar.  

“I actually felt that I didn’t want to go into the race but I texted my wife that I am very nervous and scared and didn’t want to go there.

“But she said ‘just go out, have fun and enjoy it, you know what to do so try to do your best and don’t care about the result’.  

“That’s what I tried to do and it seemed to be work out.”

His wife’s message proved pivotal as Grigar secured gold in the men’s K1 short salmon in Prague.

The shorter format was a demonstration event at the World Cup but the victory was a big boost for the Slovakian.

“I am very happy to take the win and maybe I can build my self-confidence a little more and hopefully bring it tomorrow,” added Grigar.

‍

Photos by Dezső Vékássy