Namita Nayyar:
It is a dream for a sportsperson to win a World Championships Gold Medal. In 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It was the 8th edition of the event; you won gold in the long jump T11 event. Tell us more about this spectacular achievement of yours.
Arjola Dedaj:
Yes, I had several years of national team experience behind me, emotions had already overwhelmed me every time I competed, but here something even more extraordinary happened, the highest podium, the national anthem made me cry to the point that I almost didn’t believe all of this was mine. I took the flight with many expectations, a burden of responsibility that also created a lot of tension that I tried to manage in the best possible ways. First of all, I didn’t want to disappoint myself and the people who had helped me get this far. I had worked hard together with the fundamental support of my life partner Emanuele, also a Paralympic athlete who helped me by also guiding me during training, for him it was a very tough and tiring period, the double role, preparing for his races and at the same time allowing me to train. He had to take energy and time away from his preparation to help me.
This happens because it is very difficult to find guide athletes to train with every day and then compete together. I asked a dear friend of mine, a former athlete, to guide me at this world championship, so the 15 days before the competition, we saw each other more frequently to refine the synergy and the feeling for managing the competition. I imagined the race in my head, six jumps, on the third jump, the order of the jumpers changed, the one with the best measurement jumped last, so I had a desire that initially I didn’t want to share with anyone except Emanuele, to him I told everything that went through my mind! I hinted to my friend that in the race, I had a desire that if it went as I wanted, I would do something, but I didn’t say what.
She insisted on knowing it, and I told her: if on the last jump, I’m the last to jump and I’m already on the podium, I’ll ask for the clap that usually jumpers request as a stimulus from the audience, but the blind can’t do it because maximum silence is required during the jumps to listen to the guide’s directions for direction. I managed to fulfill this desire, and it was amazing to experience this feeling. In reality, I understood almost nothing, I had already won, but I also wanted to do this, in the roar of the applause requested for the rhythm, I heard the high voice of my guide, and I made this jump uplifted and covered by the exciting noise of the stands, victory, and all the sacrifices made up to that moment that you see take the form of magic.
Namita Nayyar:
You are the world-leading Paralympic track and field athlete, social media personality, and brand ambassador. How do you manage such a remarkable multi-dimensional lifestyle?
Arjola Dedaj:
I try to always be myself, simple and direct. I speak the language of what I do with passion, transmitting what I learn every day in both life and sports fields. I like to tell beautiful moments and not only. Because through difficult ones, you always find the motivation to push further to find solutions.
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine you may wish to share?
Arjola Dedaj:
When you are young, sometimes inexperience and haste make you speed up certain mechanisms, and recoveries are also faster. When you mature, from all points of view, from the chronological to the awareness of your body, you try to preserve and take care of certain aspects more. So, I work a lot on active joint mobility before each session, giving equal importance to strength in the gym also for my physical conformity.
Training six days a week, the workout plan is structured by my coaches based on seasonal goals that go through cyclical periods of load, discharge, and finalization to competitions. The basis of each training includes initial exercises: back, shoulders, hips, and ankle mobility, two slow laps around the field to raise body temperature, resumption of active mobility in progress, leg swings, hip rotations, muscle activation with quick recall exercises with bands for abductors, adductors, stable core, squats, etc.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you train your abs? One secret to your toned body.
Arjola Dedaj:
In every gym session, I do about 8-10 minutes of specific exercises just for abs/back including core stability, all without breaks. Obviously, the body including the abs is also trained when you run or do other exercises of elastic or static strength such as jumps, in the gym, etc. Also because for all this, you have to have great control for the management of exercises, keeping the abs well prevents back pain.
Namita Nayyar:
Do you take a special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Arjola Dedaj:
On this aspect, my partner Emanuele is certainly more knowledgeable and not only that, also more precise than me! I am sometimes a bit more flexible because I like to eat. However, yes, we follow a very precise dietary style that includes a Mediterranean diet, following the indications of our nutritionists over the years. At every meal, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, all in the right measure based on each of our physical conformities. Three main meals and two snacks.
Namita Nayyar:
Five foods you love and five you keep to a minimum.
Arjola Dedaj:
I love pasta, fruit, vegetables, legumes, and fish. I like meat less, but I don’t deprive myself of anything. What I love most are sweets, I limit myself a bit, but never enough because I’m too greedy, and in Italy, the food is so good.
Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
