Jakub Šiarnik - new ralpu ambassador
author: ralpu
February 2, 2021
Jakub Šiarnik - multiple representative of Slovakia in ski mountaineering, multiple Slovak Champion in ski mountaineering and currently our most successful man in ski mountaineering becomes a ralpu ambassador. We bring you a short interview in which we will introduce Jakub's sports career.
What are your beginnings, how did you get into sports?
I had the advantage that my parents did not pressure me into sports, but showed me various outdoor sports options. They were more about the less extreme sports like cross-country skiing, cycling or alpine hiking. I first built on this unorganized foundation with downhill skiing. During the summer, when I was 12 years old, I helped with the horses in Žiar, and a 15-minute time trial on a bicycle from Smrečany was my daily bread. I supplemented it with several hours of walking with the horses, and a beautifully polarized training was born - I don't even know how. At the end of the summer, I went to the High Mountain Duathlon with my father for the Žiarska Chata prize, and in the cycling part I set a good time for my age (25m:12s from the parking lot). That's when they talked me into starting training with cross-country skiers, which directed me in sports.
Jakub uses the Vertix model
Accurate data plays an important role in Jakub's preparation. He intensively tested the COROS GPS watch for a whole month so that his decision was qualified and supported by real measurements from training. In the end, he was especially convinced by the accuracy of the GPS recording - the main quality of the COROS GPS watch. Jakub uses the Vertix model in a beautiful azure-blue titanium finish (Ice Breaker version) in his preparation and when racing. The Vertix model provides unprecedented battery life - up to 60 hours in second GPS mode. The durability of the watch is defined by the sapphire glass with DLC (Diamond Like Coating) surface treatment, the titanium ring around the display and the back cover. Read the detailed review with a rich photo gallery.
COROS is the most dynamically developing brand in the GPS watch segment. In just a few years of being on the market, it has won the hearts of elite world athletes such as Hayden Hawks and Tim Tollefson. In our country, one of the best ultra runners in Slovakia - Paťo Milata - another ralpu ambassador has been using the Vertix model for more than a year. The quality of COROS GPS watches was confirmed at the end of 2020 by the world record holder in the marathon - Eliud Kipchoge - who became the COROS brand ambassador. In his training, Eliud uses the Pace 2 model weighing only 29 grams (the lightest GPS watch in the world) and the Apex Pro model.
In Slovakia, the COROS brand is also winning the hearts of athletes, mountain lovers, and active people. The authorized COROS dealer in Slovakia is the Slovak e-shop ralpu, based in Liptovský Mikuláš.
How did you get into ski mountaineering?
I trained with cross-country skiers for less than two seasons. Then I started to prepare more and more individually. At the age of 17, I already had relatively light equipment at my disposal, which I bought as an addition to my cross-country skis. It was a great opportunity to extend my season on the snow. It didn't take long, however, and I was already at the start of my first race. I finished second in the open category and the following season I was already able to dominate among juniors. In the 2014 season, I got the opportunity to start at the World Cup and my direction was thus decided.
What was your transition to professional sports like?
I don't consider myself a professional athlete yet in the sense that I don't have a professional contract that would guarantee me a salary on a regular basis. All my collaborations are more project-based and in combination with the SSA contribution I can cover the season. In addition to sports, I also have a part-time job and a few positions in various organizations so that I have something to do if I decide to change my priorities. In any case, the transition to an increasingly professional regime is gradual and, in addition to better and better results, also requires a proactive approach and creativity towards non-competition projects and their promotion.
Which sporting achievements in your career so far do you consider the most valuable?
From a sporting point of view, definitely 11th and 13th place in the World Cup, which I won last season. In general, from an alpine ski point of view, I am most pleased with the FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the ridge of the West Tatras. I consider this performance to be a kind of intersection of physical, technical and psychological performance combined with knowledge of the environment.
What moves you, motivates you to improve?
The answer is simple and can be found in the question itself. It's just a great feeling to develop your potential. When things don't go exactly straight, there's room for research and finding out more about yourself and the limits of your body's performance. Last but not least, I won't be an alibi and I'll also say that building your own brand, new collaborations and also spillovers outside of sports are also motivating factors that you shouldn't be ashamed of and hide behind false modesty.
Jakub's greatest sporting achievements:
- multiple Slovak Champion in ski mountaineering
- winner of the Slovak Cup in ski mountaineering
- winner of the most demanding ski mountaineering race in Central Europe - Along the Sides of the Western Tatras
- 11th and 13th place in the World Cup races in the 2019/20 season
- the fastest winter crossing of the Western Tatras ridge
- winner of the Red Bull 400 series final, Bischofshofen