Deaflympics star Tanel Visnap's homecoming: Something to tell the grandkids about
Tanel Visnap, winner of three gold medals at the recently concluded Tokyo Deaflympics, returned home to a hero's welcome at Tallinn Airport on Wednesday.
Visnap, 33, told ERR his greatest source of motivation has been his family.
"What drives me on is my family, because I know that what I do in sport will go down in history. It's something nice to tell my grandchildren one day — that I once was somebody. Doing this was a huge motivator for me," he said.
As well as winning the event, Visnap set a Deaflympics record in the 100 meters with his 10.58 and took his second gold in the 200 meters, with a time of 21.54. The icing on the cake came Monday when he took gold in the long jump also setting a PB of 7.24 with his best attempt in the long jump final. This event he had taken gold in three years ago at the Brazil Deaflympics, too.
"When I finished the 100 meters, the release of tension was indeed enormous and I let all the emotions out of my body. I had a very big dream of becoming an Olympic champion, specifically in sprinting, and I finally managed to do it," he told ERR.
"In my case, a major advantage is that if there's more work to be done, I can mentally prepare myself for it," Visnap replied. "It could go both ways — when I failed in the 100 meters in Brazil, I developed an inner anger. The gold in the long jump [in Brazil] was actually a consolation prize for me, as I failed in the 100 meters."
He also took bronze in the high jump three years ago.
"My preparation began already last year, after the World Championships in Taipei (at the end of June – ed.). I immediately started thinking about how to do two autumn preparations, how to carry out the winter season and the summer season," Visnap recounted. "Following last year's World Championships in Taipei, I experienced a drop in motivation because things did not go so well there. I managed to regain that motivation sometime in the spring, because I knew the Deaflympics were drawing closer," he went on.
As for the future, however, Visnap was less rosy: "Since there are no major deaf competitions next year, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to keep my motivation up."
The next Deaflympics are in 2029. The decision on venue is to be made at the end of this month, with Greece and Croatia in the running.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
