Janko and Jelen Franjic will make their debut at the Olympic Games this winter. On Friday it was announced that Jelen will be in the two-man bob on Monday. Together with his older brother Janko, he later also participates in the four-man bob. Mother Biljana and father Mario look with pride at their two sons, although they sit differently on Monday in front of the TV.
The Franjic family has been through some tense moments in recent months. At first it was exciting whether the bobsleigh team could go to the Olympics. The team qualified according to international standards, but NOC*NSF’s requirements were stricter. “It was on the brink. The fact that they had no opportunity to train in the past year was seen as a mitigating factor. Which allowed them to go.”
That news came two days after the team in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland, failed to meet the Dutch requirements at the last chance. “There was really a lot of sadness. The message came two days later. First there were tears of sadness, then of joy,” says mother with a smile. She knew there was good news when she heard the younger of the two sons screaming at home. “I was working from home, in a meeting via teams. But when I heard him I went downstairs and I was screaming too. Haha, everyone has heard that.”
The technical director was then tested positive for corona, while they had done all kinds of chores with him that day. “Then you have to wait a few days to see if they are also positive. We all sympathized with those moments.”
It all worked out well, they left by plane to China. After the opening ceremony, which was impressive for the brothers, there was contact between the bobsleighers and the home front. “We looked first, but it took a while to find. They all had on a TeamNL hat and mouth cap. Then we called immediately.” It was about the wow effect when entering the stadium, the speech by the Olympic president, the flag being hoisted and the John Lennon song Imagine. “They got goosebumps.”
Then came another tense moment. Janko and Jelen were sure of a place in the four-man bob, but there was also a place to be forgiven in the two-man bob. The parents already knew that it would be between their two sons. “They held a kind of competition. But I didn’t want to hear about it. Do I have to say ‘bravo’ and ‘sad’ at the same time? It was really difficult, gave me a mixed feeling.”
The choice fell on the younger of the two brothers. It will be in action for the first time on Monday. Father Mario then proudly sits in front of the TV. In any case, he is proud that his children will succeed him as participants in the Olympic Games. “I’m very happy, those guys have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. The whole family is proud. They deserve to be there. I’m not tense. The most important thing is that they are there, to fight for The Netherlands.”
“These are beautiful images”, says father, who was active at the winter games in 1984 for Yugoslavia and in 1998 on behalf of Bosnia. “We’re recording it, to save for the grandchildren.” That way, mother can see it again, because she prefers not to watch live. “I dare to watch the start and when they have reached the finish, but I do not dare to watch the race. I look with one eye open, but my husband is almost glued to the TV.”
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