Dana Zátopková
1/17/2012
On Friday 16th December two of our Prima students went to the retirement home Pod Kavčí Skálou in Říčany to meet an athletic legend, Mrs. Dana Zátopková, and one of her best friends from secondary school, Mrs. Kaplanová. Mrs. Zátopková was talking about her sport career from its beginning to the end, about how she met her husband Emil, how they travelled together, and how they learnt foreign languages. The funniest story was about her neighbour who was not fond of their training as they made a lot of noise.
Dana Zátopková (born September 19, 1922) was a Czech javelin thrower. She won the gold medal for javelin in the 1952 Summer Olympics (only an hour after her husband, Emil Zátopek, won the 5000 m), and the silver medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. She was the European champion in 1954 and 1958. She also set a world record in 1958 (55.73 m) when she was 35, making her the oldest woman to break one in an outdoor athletics event.
The couple were well known for their public banter. Once, when Emil attempted to take some credit for his wife's Olympic victory at her press conference, claiming that it was his victory in the 5 km run that had "inspired" her, she tartly responded, "Really? Okay, go inspire some other girl and see if 'she' throws a javelin fifty meters!!"
- Maruška Michopulu a Tea Vulasová -
