Emil Zatopek kisses his wife Dana Zatopkova upon she captured the gold, himself having captured the gold of the 5000m, on July 24, 1952 at the Helsinki Olympic Games.
Emil Zátopek was a Czech athlete who is considered one of the greatest long-distance runners in the history of the sport.
Background
Zátopek, Emil was born on September 19, 1922 in Koprivnice, Novy Jicin, Czechoslovakia. His working-class parents, Frantisek and Anzeka had eight children in all. The large family meant family finances were spread thinly and Emil was always conscious of living close to the poverty line.
As a child, Zatopek was a bright, independently minded spirit, with an unusual power of memory. Many friends said an abiding characteristic of the young Zatopek was his willingness to try everything differently.
Education
In 1947 Emil graduated from the Military Academy in Hranice.
Career
In 1937, just short of his 15th birthday, Zatopek left his hometown to work in the large Bata factory in Zlin. For the time, it was a reasonable job, though very disciplined and somewhat repetitive.
Aged 18, he had no interest in running but on one occasion was picked by his company to join a race. Despite his protestations that he was unfit, he was forced to start the race and ended up coming second out of 100. This began his interest in running, and within four years he was representing Czechoslovakia. The second world war and the German occupation of Czechoslovakia meant he lost some of the best years of his career. But, during the war, he was able to persevere with his training and make significant improvements.
After the Second World War, he joined the new Czechoslovakia army, who were sympathetic to allowing him time to train – especially as international success followed. In 1948, he became a household name winning the 10 km in the austerity London Olympics. He also finished second in the 5 km, though many felt that running with greater reserve in the heats may have enabled him to win.
After the 1948 Olympics, Zatopek’s dominance of middle-distance running grew – leading to several world records. On 29 September 1951, Emil Zatopek became the first person to run 20 kilometres in under one hour and broke four world records in one breathtaking race. By the end of 1953, he held eight world running records—the only man in history to hold so many records at the same time. In total, he set 18 world records.
In 1952, Emil Zatopek achieved one of the greatest Olympic feats of all time – something that will probably never be reproduced. He won gold in the 5km, 10km and then at the last moment decided to run his first ever marathon. Despite no previous experience at the distance, he won the race by over two minutes. This triple Olympic gold remains an unprecedented achievement. The amazing feature of this Olympics was that two months before the Olympics, doctors advised him not to race because of an infected gland. Zatopek ignored the doctors’ advice.
Another incident shortly before the 1952 Olympics also illustrates Zatopek’s willingness to take an unorthodox stance. In 1952, Czechoslovakia was in the throes of great political oppression, with many people put in jail and executed for ‘suspect’ political views. Stalinist purges were widespread and even athletics was not immune. Just eight months prior, the entire national ice hockey team were arrested and eight players sentenced to a total of 77 years – their crimes were supposedly contemplating defection.
Shortly before the Olympics, Stanislav Jungwirth was excluded from the national team on the grounds his father was in prison for political offences. But, Zatopek was infuriated and told the Ministry of Sports that “If Standa does not go nor will I”
Zatopek’s stance was brave and perhaps foolhardy, as the consequences could have been severe. It was also remarkable given what was at stake for Zatopek and he was widely tipped to be favourite for at least two Olympic golds. In the end, the Ministry of Sports climbed down and allowed both Standa and Zatopek to travel. However, a dossier was made on Zatopek for his possible punishment after the games. It was with this threat hanging over his head, that Zatopek competed in the Olympics. His unique triple of Olympic golds gave Zatopek a public popularity which saved him from further punishment, a lesser athlete would probably have fared very differently.
In 1956, after he recovered from a groin injury, he participated in the Melbourne Olympics, where he finished the marathon in the sixth position. The following year he retired from running.
After he retired from running, he remained in the Army and in the year 1964, he rose to the position of a Colonel. He later worked in the Ministry of Defence.
One of the greatest long-distance runners of the 20th century, Emil Zatopek shot to great fame with his three gold medal victories at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952.
In 1998, he was honoured with the title of ‘White Lion’, one of Czech’s highest awards. The title was conferred to him by the then Czech President Vaclav Havel.
In 2000, he was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal It’s a special decoration conferred by the International Olympic Committee.
A life-size bronze statue of Zátopek was unveiled at the Stadium of Youth in Zlín in September 2014.
A hero in his native country, Zátopek was an influential figure in the Communist Party. However, he supported the party's democratic wing, and after the 1968 Prague Spring, he was stripped of his rank and expelled from the army and the party, removed from all important positions and forced to work in a string of inferior and dangerous positions, such as a uranium mine, refuse collection service, and well digging. On 9 March 1990, Zátopek was rehabilitated by Václav Havel.
Views
Emile Zatopek was renowned for his hard training routines. He would train whatever the weather and push himself through punishing training routines to get the best out of himself. His philosophy was to develop speed and then be able to repeat this over a long period of time. Speaking of his intense training Zatopek said:
“If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It’s raining? That doesn’t matter. I am tired? That’s beside the point. It’s simply that I just have to.”
At the time, this challenged conventional training wisdom.
To Zatopek, the Olympics was significant for its ideals of international friendship.
Quotations:
"If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon."
"Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast."
"What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come."
"You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it."
"The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on."
Personality
Emil had a deeply generous spirit – frequently helping out strangers or people who came to see him in his Prague flat.
Zatopek had tremendous sincerity. He recounts arriving at the 1948 Olympics in London:
“It was my first competition in Olympic Games and I was surprised to come to Olympic stadium and to read the most important things about the Games was: ‘Not to win but to take part’. What—not to win? Ah, but I wish to win!“
Physical Characteristics:
His height was 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in).
Interests
Gardening, philosophy
Connections
After Emil returned from the London Olympics in 1948, he married Dana Zatopkova, who was a javelin thrower. She survives him: they had no children.
