Conclusion of the Olympics in Paris: Evaluation of Slovak performances and the way forward

Over the weekend, the Summer Olympics ended in Paris, in which Slovakia had historically the lowest participation, and the only medal was won by water slalom racer Matej Beňuš. Despite the fact that several of our athletes gave admirable performances and were only a short distance away from success or a medal, we cannot call the results satisfactory.

"I see this situation as a starting line.  For many years, sport was neglected, work with youth was not systematic, insufficient attention was paid to the education of coaches, sports facilities were neglected and very few new ones were built, and sport was also underfunded until the changes brought about by the Sports Act. Today, however, we see that even this is not one hundred percent and needs to be amended," says Minister of Tourism and Sports Dušan Keketi.

We perceive all these problems, which are named by experts in sports, the sports community, top athletes and parents of sports children. That is why the SNS insisted on the establishment of a new ministry that would have sport as one of its main activities and not as an area that is on the periphery, as was the case in the past.

We want to take a closer look at top sport, whether the training processes are running properly, but also whether we have enough qualified coaches. We need to create systemic support, create a base for future top sport, i.e. focus on the so-called sport for all. It is important for us to focus on youth, but also on the preparation and professional development of coaches. We look at models of operation in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, as well as innovative approaches and working with data in the Netherlands.

Currently, three times the amount of money is going into the development of sports infrastructure than it has been so far. We invest in the remodeling of existing sports facilities and the construction of new ones throughout Slovakia. This year, 73 projects in the regions were supported in the total amount of EUR 35.4 million. In 2024, we have already supported 19 major sporting events taking place in Slovakia in various disciplines in the total amount of almost €1.7 million.

We need to increase the number of physical education classes in schools, or to motivate children to exercise and engage in more frequent physical activity. Focusing on improving all these aspects, starting with the general sports training of children and youth, is the key to Slovakia being able to continue to compete at the highest world levels.