I Ran to My Coach with Tears in My Eyes
In cooperation with Telma, Israel's most promising young athletes: Dana Grimovich (Photo: Yaron Sharon, video editing: Omri Zuingle) By 6:30 a.m., Dana Grimovich has already managed to stretch, make herself breakfast, and pack two bags, one for school and one for the practice waiting for her later in the day. In her training bag there will always be “water, a few pairs of shoes, and a date or an apple” for days when she needs “a little extra energy,” as she says with a smile.
For Dana, like the other teenagers selected for ynet and Telma’s project “Israel’s Promising Female and Male Athletes,” the day does not end when school is over. Between practices, the gym, and competitions, they live according to a routine more like that of professional athletes than high school students. As part of the project, girls and boys from various Olympic and Paralympic sports from across the country were chosen, young athletes who are already building their lives around persistence, discipline, and many hours of hard work. Alongside the achievements, their story is also about the journey, dealing with pressure, injuries, stress, and the ability to keep going even in less simple moments.
“I Saw a Practice and Was Just Curious”
Dana has been training in track and field for four years, even though she did not plan to enter the sport at all. “I was at a tennis practice,” she says, “and the track and field field was right next to it. I saw people running, throwing, and training hard, and I was just curious.” That curiosity very quickly became her regular activity.
Today she trains with the Hanegev Athletics Club and competes in discus, shot put, and hammer throw, with discus throwing as her main event. “As long as I can remember, I’ve always been moving,” she says. “I was always looking for the next challenge.” Even outside practice, athletics has become a major part of her life. Recently, she even began a track and field coaching course. “I’m really looking forward to starting to coach,” she says. “It’s something I’ve been waiting for a very long time.”
“It All Depends on One Precise Movement”
Dana’s training routine includes six workouts a week, three in athletics and three in the gym, with each session lasting up to four hours. In discus, she explains, there is not much room for error. “It all depends on one precise movement,” she says. “Sometimes it really is a matter of centimeters.”
Once a month, her coach, Idan Shapira, gives the athletes professional tests that include running, jumping, and throwing, to check what they have improved compared with the previous month. “We compare results and see where we’ve progressed,” she says. “And in the gym too, if the weight already feels light to me, I just add more.”
But in recent times, alongside the intense training, Dana has been dealing with pain in her right shoulder, her dominant arm for throwing. “It’s not easy,” she admits, “especially when you want to progress and get as far as possible.” Still, for her, the pain is also an inseparable part of the journey. “I believe you don’t give up,” she says. “You have to get the maximum out of every practice.” The people who help her keep going are mainly those around her, her mother, her sister, her grandmother, and her coach. “They’re always there for me,” she says, “both in the good moments and when it’s hard.”
“When Someone Overtook Me for the First Time, It Shook Me”
One of the moments that affected Dana most happened at a competition she lost. “The first time someone overtook me in discus, it really shook me,” she shares. “For three years I was first, and suddenly that changed.” At first it was hard for her to digest the loss, but later she understood that it was דווקא what pushed her forward. “It made me realize I can’t stay in the same place,” she says, “that I have to keep improving.”
During that period she also set herself a very clear goal, to surpass the 40-meter mark in discus. “Every practice of mine was aimed at that,” she says. And eventually the moment she had been waiting for arrived: “At the Israeli championship I saw the discus land beyond 40 meters,” she recalls. “I ran to my coach with tears in my eyes.” To this day she says it is one of the moments she is most proud of, even though for her the biggest achievement is not the medals at all. “I don’t compete against other girls,” she says. “I compete against myself.”
“Don’t Be Afraid of Big Goals”
Like many young athletes, Dana has a clear dream, to reach the Olympics. But for her, the path there is just as important. “In five years I see myself studying for a degree and continuing to chase my dreams,” she says. When asked for a message to the next generation, she does not hesitate: “Don’t be afraid of big goals,” she says. “Both the difficulty and the setbacks are part of the journey.”
And meanwhile, almost every day anew, she returns to the field, to the discus, and to another attempt to improve by a few more centimeters. “The Olympic Games are a distant dream,” she says, “but that doesn’t mean living in fantasy. It’s my way.”
In cooperation with Telma
