Slovenia’s Klemen Šen combines firefighting with collecting Volleyball trophies
News
Slovenian rising star Klemen Šen is not only a talented Volleyball player but a selfless person as well – who dedicates a lot of his free time to helping others. Volunteer firefighting in Slovenia has a long and strong tradition. Therefore, it is no surprise that Šen is a member of the volunteer fire department PGD Dolnji Logatec.
Recently, a huge fire was raging on the Slovenian-Italian border. Professional as well as volunteer firefighters from all over the country were helping in the Karst region trying to save lives, nature, and protect property. The 20-year-old from Logatec did not have any second thoughts when it was his turn to go to fight the fire, even though the next day the 2022 Slovenian National Beach Volleyball Championships started in Kranj, with Šen and his teammate Nejc Zemljak (they joined forces after their regular partners had to withdraw due to injuries) aiming high.
On Thursday, Šen worked a 12-hour shift right at the first fire line although he risked being too tired to deliver his best performance at the national championship the next day.
Klemen Šen“I mentioned it to Nejc that I probably would not be able to come to our last practice before the competition because I was going to Karst. This was the hardest part for me, but he accepted it well and encouraged me to go and help people. I was confident that it should not be a problem since I had trained a lot before, I am still quite young and physically fit enough to handle the workload without any impact on my performance.”
The rest is a true Volleyball fairy-tale. Šen and Zemljak edged Jan Pokeršnik and Rok Bračko in straight sets (21-14, 21-19) to seize the men’s crown. This was the third title for Zemljak and the first one for Šen. “We played well. At one point, we realised nervousness was unnecessary and that we were the ones that were making our opponents nervous. We tried to focus on our game and overall, we are happy with our performance. Indeed, it is always nice to win, but in the end, it is not everything. I am happy that we experienced this achievement together,” Zemljak shared his joy after winning the gold medal.
Last year’s champion, Danijel Pokeršnik, teamed up with Tadej Boženk to secure the bronze.
In the women’s competition, Maja Marolt and Živa Javornik took all the glory. They struggled at the beginning against Nina Lovšin and Asja Šen but managed to have the upper hand at the end with a 2-1 (13-21, 22-20, 15-10) triumph, while Tija Šketa Rozman and Anja Puckmeister completed the podium.
Marolt and Javornik were super happy with their first title:
“We think that we have not realised yet what we have achieved. Still, it feels great! We have been teammates for only one month, so claiming the title is a massive success for us. Despite a slow start in the finals, we kept pushing hard and we believe that it was our attitude that made the biggest difference in the match.”