Roksanda Atanasov is the most successful karate coach in the world! A coach who united the Olympic, World, and European titles in the same year. In the 1990s, she was among the best female karate athletes in the world, and today she works with young talents, instilling a winning mentality in new generations of champions. She fulfilled her dream of participating in the Olympic Games as the coach of Jovana Preković, whom she has trained since the age of four. Jovana brought home the gold medal for Serbia from the Tokyo Olympics. Today, Roksanda successfully runs her own club, Karate Club “Knjaz” in Aranđelovac, small town in Serbia, where 180 girls and boys train daily.
The key things in life are dedication, love, unconditional giving, trust, belief in talent—and as a result of all that, success comes.
Giving your all is a gift of special people, because when you have a child in front of you like Jovana Preković—someone you know can and wants to reach the highest peaks in sport—then giving becomes pure joy and satisfaction.
Our story isn’t just a story about sports; it’s about the essence of life: struggle, trust, friendship, perseverance, built with someone young who wants to absorb your knowledge and experience. I poured all my strength into Jovana, from the age of five. I taught her everything, and she grew before my eyes, reaching all the peaks of sport—and life in general.
As a child, Jovana was a bit of a tomboy. She liked to wrestle with the boys unlike me. I was mostly a fighter only on the field. Precisely because she was like that, working with Jovana was easy, because she was a born fighter and always motivated. Over the years of working together, we often had to do very intense, time-consuming training sessions. I never had a problem leaving my own kids to spend time with Jovana because she is my child, in a special way. I also never had a problem leaving my kids at home while traveling, thanks to my husband who is Jovana’s physical trainer and who always supported everything with understanding and ease.
Is there greater happiness for a mother and for a coach than when your Jovana wins the European and World Championships, and the Olympic gold? That’s when you realize it was all worth it.
The gold medal in Japan is the pinnacle of our joint effort. Jovana’s tears during the Serbian anthem were tears of pride, joy, and awareness of what she had achieved. It’s a wonderful feeling to recognize and nurture a child’s talent, and then watch that child become an Olympic champion.
Japan was the crown of our everything. Everything before it was filled with sweat, tears, faith, struggle, stubbornness and the constant repetition of the sentence: We can do this! And we could because we always had a clear goal in front of us. A goal, motivation, and dedicated work are enough, because a person is only as strong as their belief. To believe in someone, to give them all your knowledge and experience that is pure beauty, and it gives my coaching career complete meaning.
When you add passion and sacrifice to such a demanding life, it becomes whole completely fulfilled and it gives back even more. Life, when approached that way, is a miracle.
Since our main word in the title is “emotions,” I can only say that emotions, in every sense of the word, have been my guiding force through all these years with Jovana. I loved and respected Jovana and admired her talent. The strong spirit she has, when wisely channeled, inevitably brings success and leads to the top. The fuel needed for that she carries within herself and uses it at exactly the right moment, even if it’s the last second of the match. Only champions have that kind of fuel.
The most beautiful thing a person can experience is to love their job, to give themselves fully, to work with unconditional love without holding back. Giving your whole self is, in my view, absolute happiness. Life gains full meaning, especially when you work with children who trust you completely, surrender to you, and grow step by step into strong individuals not only for sport, but for life itself. Being part of that journey of building them up is immeasurable joy, a challenge, and a huge responsibility. All of it together brings me personal and professional fulfillment.
Sports and children are my love, my life, and I feel enormous gratitude that this is the path I’ve taken.