Friday, 16th April 2010, Velenje
Petra Majdič visits Gorenje
On Tuesday, April 13th 2010, Petra Majdič visited the Gorenje plant. First, she greeted the shop floor workers; then, she proceeded to the company cafeteria to attend a meeting the junior team of the Velenje ski jumping club, and the organizers of the Gorenje Sports Society who welcomed her in a ceremonial formation. Gorenje President and CEO surprised Petra with a present – a laundry drier. In return, Petra presented the president with her Olympics jersey.
Petra Majdič, winner of the "Slovenian Sportswoman of the Year" title for three years in a row, and above all, winner of the diamond-lustred bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, where she advanced to the final and finished third despite four broken ribs and pierced pleural membrane resulting from a nasty fall earlier in that same day. Thus, she made history of the Olympic Games as one of the greatest phenomena in the world of sports, and the hero of 2010 Olympics, winning the prestigious Fox Award for bravery and determination. During her visit at Gorenje, she greeted the shop floor workers, took part in the meeting at the company cafeteria, and had lunch with three Gorenje employees selected in an in-house drawing.
In a conversation at the cafeteria, moderated by Mr. Roman Repnik, Petra gave an account of what went on following the unfortunate fall at the Olympics. Today, Petra is still in recovery, although she is quick to note that she is not a regular patient. Her criterion of health is whether she can laugh. She also gave her view on the work at Gorenje and on the shop floor: "Working at Gorenje is, like being a top athlete, hard. I thanked the people I met during my tour of the manufacturing facility for their support and told them that my medal is theirs as well. I was surprised to see the level of technology employed at Gorenje. In any case, in order to be the best, one has to constantly challenge the competition." Her schedule includes four to six hours of training in the morning, and two more hours in the afternoon. "Life of a top athlete is anything but easygoing. There is a world of difference between being the best and being number five or six in the rankings."
Petra walked through the cooking appliances and refrigeration appliances shop floor, diplsayed her medal and gave autographs and talked to the employees who will remember her for her openness and a big smile. In front of the cafeteria, Petra was first surprised by the junior team of the Velenje Ski Jumping Club who presented cross country skiing on roller skis and rollerblades, in choreography by Igor Jelen, and the honour guard of the Gorenje Sports Society. Gorenje President and CEO surprised her with a present – a laundry drier. In return, she presented the president with her Olympics Jersey. Mr. Sebastjan Kurmanšek, one of the many amateur athletes at Gorenje, primarily a log distance runner, presented Petra with a floral bouquet. Petra completed her visit at Gorenje in the "Kulturnica" book store, where she joined Slovenian alpine climbers Viki Grošelj and Ivan Kotnik and told the tale of her Olympics and the Olympic medal as an introduction to Tomaž Humar's book "Ni nemogočih poti" ("No Route is Impossible").