Slovenia offered Fak better training conditions and a Slovenian passport. "Even when I came to Slovenia, I said that I could never become a Slovene, in the way that someone who was born here is. But I said I would try represent their country to the best of my ability," said Fak in the NaGlas! TV show, which caught up with the Slovenian national team biathlete at the end of the winter season in Mostec near Ljubljana.

Jakov Fak, the biathlete who has won a number of medals for Slovenia, was born in Mrkopalj, south of Delnice in the Gorski kotar region. He started training winter sports there when he was a child. He says it’s a magical place completely neglected by the Croatian state.

The “Zdravljica” or “Lijepa naša”?
Fak, who is 29-years-old, has won four World Championship medals competing for Slovenia. He has also won eight World Cup races. He has listened to the Slovenian national anthem – the “Zdravljica” - many times on the winning podium. However, he admits that he would rather listen to the Croatian “Lijepa naša” and adds: "Slovenia is beautiful, I love it. The people have accepted me well, but you still can’t change some things. When you’re born somewhere else, the feelings are different. It’s a nostalgia I have and carry with me wherever I go if I’m not in Croatia or my birthplace. I’m really connected to my hometown. That’s where I started and that will always be my home." Luckily Mrkopalj is not that far, only around 120 kilometers or two hour’s drive from Ljubljana. That’s why Fak is often at home: "Many times when I have problems or when I’m in a difficult situation and need to get away, that’s where I go. I can find peace there."

As he says himself he has been excellently accepted by Slovenians. He also gets along well with his team colleagues. In the dressing room Slovenian-Croatian relations are only brought up in order to stimulate better results.

Vesna Hrdlička Bergelj; translated by K. J.