Veteran Pegan ready to perform in Shanghai
"An old war-horse may be stabled, yet still it longs to gallop a thousand li". This old Chinese saying sums up veteran Slovenian gymnast Aljaz Pegan perfectly.
Born in 1974, Pegan is one of the best gymnasts Slovenia has ever produced and he has made a name for himself by frequently grabbing gold and silver medals at World and European Championships. With the 2007 World Cup Gymnastics around the corner, Pegan is all set to deliver another impressive performance and display the power and beauty of artistic gymnastics for Chinese spectators in Shanghai.
The upcoming FIG 2007 World Cup Gymnastic to be staged at the Shanghai International Gymnastic Center from July 27 to 29 will be the last Category A competition before the 40th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The Shanghai World Cup leg will be an ideal final warm-up event for gymnasts from all countries gearing up for the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Slovenian star Pegan believes his involvement in the World Cup Gymnastics in Shanghai is good preparation for next year's Beijing Olympic Games as it will enable him to adapt to the local climate, spectators and the environment. When asked about his goal for the World Cup, he said mysteriously: "it's a secret ". It is perhaps this relaxed mindset that will allow him to perform his best in Shanghai
When it comes to his impressions of Chinese gymnastics, Pegan says that China, as the host country, will be difficult to defeat in any competition and the Chinese national gymnastics team is a major force to be reckoned with.
Pegan is well aware of the power of Chinese Gymnastics, having been competing on the international stage as early as 1986, when he was only 12 years old. Despite his tender age, the young Slovenian was known to be fearless in competition. His tremendous potential on the horizontal bar was displayed at a very young age with his elegant and smooth moves of high difficulty.
Inspired by compatriot Lojz Kolman, who broke a 27-year barren run for Slovenian gymnastics by winning bronze at the 1990 European championships with an original move, Pegan surprised the world by creating an original move of his own to score a sensational win at the horizontal bar at the 1994 European championships. Pegan enjoyed further success at the 2000 and 2004 European Championships by winning the bronze.
At the World Championships, Pegan has twice been runner-up in 2002 and 2006, but in 2005, he was crowned World Champion in the Horizontal Bar after a superb 9.662 performance.
China Daily
(China Daily 07/19/2007 page22)
