2024 European Taekwondo Qualifiers: 'Street hero' Marko Golubić on chasing Olympic gold dream
The world champion from Croatia is looking to join compatriots Lena Stojkovic and Ivan Šapina at Paris 2024. He is one of the stars competing in the continental event in Sofia, which represents the last chance for European athletes to earn a quota spot for the upcoming Olympic Summer Games.
Marko Golubić is ready to fight for gold at the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships in Sofia and turn his dream into reality.
The Croatian athlete has had to wait until the last qualifying event for Paris 2024 to see if he can secure a coveted Olympic spot.
Nonetheless, Golubić seems to thrive under pressure. Despite missing out on medals twice at the European Championships and the 2022 World Championships, he 'miraculously' claimed the global title in 2023.
It remains his biggest career result yet, but he wants to top that.
“I knew that I had the potential after all the bad luck. I knew this day would happen,” he said in an interview with Vecernji.hr after his gold medal.
“The feeling [of being a world champion] is fantastic, a bit unreal. I dreamed about it, and I also dream about Olympic gold.”
Having fallen short of earning automatic qualification through the world rankings (he's currently eighth in the men’s -68kg class, with only the top six going through), the reigning world champion will be hoping to punch his ticket to Paris on 10 March in Sofia.
Croatia has already secured two Olympic in taekwondo through double world champion Lena Stojkovic in the women's -49kg, and two-time world medallist Ivan Šapina in the men's +80kg.
Croatia's Marko Golubić is among several stars chaasing qualification at the European Taekwondo Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia.
Marko Golubić on ‘rising above the difficult situations’
Golubić has experienced numerous memorable moments throughout his taekwondo career.
But there is one event that has stayed with him.
It was when he overcame the quarter-final jinx and went all the way to the top of the podium.
Defeating Serbian Stefan Takov in the final of the men’s -74kg at the 2023 World Championships fired him up, though it reminded him of the difficult periods he had to endure growing up in Dubrava, a small neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the capital Zagreb.
His parents’ separation broke him, and he chose to bury himself deep in his sport.
“I don't like to talk about it. I would say that I am just a humble boy from Dubrava. In 2015, my mother moved away with my younger sister, and I stayed with my older sister and dad in Zagreb. You accept it, and it hardens you,” he said in the chat with Vecernji.hr
“I managed to rise above those problems. Whoever has such a difficult situation, be it family or financial, it hardens the person. You have to rise above it and stick to what you love to do the most.
“In all of this, coach Dejan Mesarov was a great motivator for me. He kept telling me to believe in myself, that I have talent, that I can do great things, and he was right.”
Marko Golubić: "I am still dreaming about the Olympic gold
Winning Croatia’s fifth taekwondo world title was beyond the 23-year-old’s wildest dreams, but it never felt out of his reach.
“You know how it is with those fifth places, you get patted for them, but no one remembers that. And the world gold is remembered. After all, not many Croatian athletes are world champions,” he said.
In his decade-long career, Golubić’s best had been a silver medal at the 2017 European Youth and the bronze medal from the Grand Prix in Paris last year.
“I said enough with the bad luck… This must come to an end. We trained four times a day, we trained hard, and we achieved a miracle. This is a miracle of God. Proof that hard work pays off.
“I hoped that one day I would be the hero of my street. I am the hero of the street and of my family. And now I'm going back to that street with the world gold.”
The Dinamo Zagreb football fan lives for the moments of adrenaline rushes. Luckily, he gets that from his favourite Australian rock band AC/DC that gets him all pumped up before he takes to the tatami.
A similar exhilirating sense is sweeping through him as he prepeares to seek a spot at his debut Games.
“I know I need to stay grounded…the world title was just the beginning…as I am still dreaming about the Olympic gold.”
You can catch all the action from the 2024 World Taekwondo European Qualification Tournament live on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com here.