The Prague Post
October 10th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions

Home » Archives » Sports

World champs

With five world champion title-winners in 2007, the race is tight for Czech Athlete of the Year

By František Bouc
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 3rd, 2008 issue

ISIFA
Decathlete Roman Šebrle pole jumps his way to another gold medal — this time at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
enlarge
If one does not believe the adage that a woman can be found behind every great accomplishment — the review of the greatest achievements of Czech athletes in 2007 certainly proves it.
Female athletes earned the most recognition last year.
Despite a change of generations in Czech sports, the country’s athletes won five world champion titles — the biggest number in the last decade. Of those titles, four went to women.
Individual results of Czech athletes overshadowed team efforts, although the junior soccer team’s advance to the final of the World Under-20 World Championship in Canada last summer was outstanding.
Also worth mentioning was the successful campaign of the senior soccer team in Euro 2008 qualification and the men’s Davis Cup team win over Switzerland, led by the world’s No. 1 tennis player, Roger Federer, in the Davis Cup playoffs in September.
The queen of Czech sports, cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová, is hoping for the last time to win the title of the Czech Athlete of the Year. The title will be announced Jan. 12 in Prague.
The retired champion faces a tough challenge from the other four world champions — downhill skier Šárka Záhrobská, speed skater Martina Sáblíková, javelin thrower Barbora Špotáková and decathlete Roman Šebrle.
Kateřina Neumannová: cross-country skier
Whether or not she wins the best Czech athlete title, Neumannová is ending her amazing sports career quite impressively.
After winning the gold medal in the women’s 30-kilometer (19 miles) freestyle race in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she seriously considered ending her career at the top of her game.
Eventually, she agreed to compete one more year. Neumannová declared before her last season that she would attempt to win the World Cup’s top overall standing. While she did not accomplish that goal and finished third in the World Cup, she still won a gold medal in a 10-kilometer race in the world championships and also added a silver in the skiathlon.
After quitting professional sports, Neumannova was named president of the organizational committee of the 2009 World Championships in Liberec this summer. However, her appointment raised turmoil after former Sports and Education Minister Dana Kuchtová dismissed her predecessor, Roman Kumpošt, over an alleged accounting irregularity.
The ministry’s audit after Kuchtová’s resignation in September, however, showed that Kumpošt did nothing wrong. Neumannová is now seen by many people as the former minister’s protegé.
Šárka Záhrobská: downhill skier
Záhrobská became the first-ever Czech world champion in downhill skiing this year after winning gold in the slalom. She also finished third in slalom in the World Cup’s overall standings. Unlike other Czech athletes, she has trained on her own and is coached by her father.
Martina Sáblíková: skater
In 2007, Sáblíková rose from the position of speed skating’s Cinderella to become queen of the sport.
Sáblíková had struggled with a lack of funds for training at the beginning of the year. As a result, she had to share a wooden cabin with her coach Petr Novák and teammate Andrea Jirků during the European Championship in Collalbo in January.
Later in the season, however, she won two gold medals in the world championships and set four world records.
Although speed skating is a relatively small sport here, Sáblíková’s success initiated the construction of the first speed-skating arena, which will open in the central Bohemian town Velký Osek in 2009.
Barbora Špotáková: javelin
After triple Olympic champion Jan Železný retired, it looked like javelin events would lose their glamor in Czech athletics.
However, it took only two years for the Czech Republic to welcome another world champion to the sport.
Female thrower Barbora Špotáková shocked many sports enthusiasts by winning the gold medal in the championships in Osaka, Japan, last summer. Špotáková also won the World Cup. The fast-rising star became so popular that she was brought in to be one of the faces promoting Prague’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Roman Šebrle: decathlete
The Olympic gold medal winner from the 2004 Athens Games and also the world record holder completed his collection of medals last year after winning a gold medal in the outdoor world championship in Osaka.
Before the championship game Šebrle was struggling with his form and it looked like he could not win in Japan, but he enjoyed a bit of good luck. His biggest rival, Brian Clay of the United States, suffered an injury and had to withdraw from the competition.
 
 

František Bouc can be reached at fbouc@praguepost.com


Other articles in Sports (3/01/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.