Blog guest: Danijela Đikanović Franeta

She used to swim for the SC Jadran from Herceg Novi, where she began her career, then for SC Vojvodina from Novi Sad and for the national team. Danijela Đikanović Franeta is a multiple national record holder and the champion of sprint butterfly and backstroke. As a coach of the national team of Montenegro, she has used her experience to make swimming “interesting” again in this region. For Swimming Dad as a #Blog guest, she tells us about a mountain, her choice for swimming preparations in summer, and what she prefers when it comes to holidays once the swimming season is over, the sun at the seaside or a mountain.

Do you like spending summer on a mountain or at the seaside?

At the seaside of course. The sea, the sun, light clothes. Once the swimming season is over, no matter if it’s July or August (depending on the competitions) my favourite part of a year begins. While I was swimming, that period was the thing I needed most, the period when I would just forget about everything else. Now, as a coach, I’m using this part of the year for spending my free time with my family and relax.

What is your experience with swimming preparations on a mountain?

First, I have to admit that I am not much of a mountain fan. It’s true that I was born at the sea, but the fact that I can’t ski tells enough. As for the preparations, when I was a swimmer, I went to a mountain only once (Zlatibor). To be honest, now as a coach, I haven’t taken the children to altitude trainings.

Do you support the practice of altitude trainings on mountains?

Maybe, but I think I’m not the right person for that question, I haven’t done it so far, so, I don’t have personal experience regarding that. However, every once in a while, we hear that most swimmers go to mountains in summer. Altitude trainings in summer are often called “a fresh doping” when the organism refreshes with a lot of “new” blood enriched with pure oxygen. That’s another reason for me to hope that I will afford mountains at least to my kids, and all other things I missed when I was a swimmer at their age.