"I love to throw the hammer"
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Hammer thrower Dorian Collaku settled in Finland after he found his future wife in Ostrobothnia and learned how to speak Finnish. Now the babbling of his two-year-old daughter Silvia is the ring-tone of his mobile.
“I wish to thank my wife Elina, who is my greatest support. She has put up with the hectic life of a sportsman”, said Collaku, almost in tears.
Besides his family, Collaku is very devoted to hammer throwing.
“I love the sport, and I train no matter what happens”, Collaku says firmly.
Last year he had to take a forced break, after his foot got stuck between forklift trucks in a furniture warehouse.
“I had a compound fracture in my lower leg, and the ankle was operated on twice, and I could not throw the hammer until July”, Collaku explains.
Collaku refrained from throwing for almost 12 months, and yet he still managed to earn a ticket to the Beijing Olympics at the Espoonlahti competition at the end of September. His best throw was 75.20 metres, just over the mark required for qualification.
”Perhaps the break was good for me. My body could have some rest, and I had a chance to contemplate proper throwing technique”.
At the Osaka World Championships, Collaku was not in peak condition. He came in 27th with a result of 68.30 metres, well short of securing a place in the final. It was his second appareance at the IIAF World Championships. He also took part in Helsinki in 2005.
“The flight to Japan lasted 20 hours, and the men’s hammer throw qualification was on the next day in heat of 40°C. I was completely soft and out of it.”
In Osaka, Collaku formed the Albanian team on his own. However, he is likely to have slipped from the top to the second place in the Albanian individual sports rankings, after his friend Sahit Pritzreni snatched a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling in the Baku World Championships in September. The medal also brought an automatic Olympic place.
”We agreed at the Athens Olympic Games that we would meet up again in Beijing. Now our plan is likely to succeed.”
Collacu can warmly recommend the occupation of a stevedore to any sportsman, based on his experience of seven years.
”I could also have had an easier job, but now I have more time for example for my family, as I don’t have to spend hours at a gym. My work is so active that even my weight stays under control”, marvels the Albanian, who recently became an Espoo resident.
Preparing for big competitions is also easier as a stevedore.
“I just have to work longer hours prior to competitions, in order to manage financially during the time I am away from work”, notes the hammer thrower, who acquired a commercial education while living in Kuortane.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.10.2007
More on this subject:
 An Albanian chain reaction
Helsingin Sanomat
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