Lucky Friday 13th: Two more medals heading to Czechia

Friday the 13th was definitely not an unlucky day for Czech athletes. Czechia added a gold medal to its tally, won by speed skater Metoděj Jílek, and a silver medal in snowboard cross, earned by Eva Adamczyková at the Winter Olympic Games 2026.

Ten days after the start of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan, the Czechs have managed to win four medals in three sports. On the first Sunday of the Games, snowboarder Zuzana Maděrová triumphed in the giant slalom, and speed skater Metoděj Jílek claimed his first silver medal. On Friday13th, Jílek crossed the finish line first, while Eva Adamczyková celebrated silver in snowboard cross.

Eva Adamczyková|Photo: Ann-Dee Lamour, Sipa Press / Profimedia

“I feel fantastic. Tired, but fantastic. I’m glad it’s over,” Adamczyková said after the race.

Thirty-two-year-old Adamczyková returned to competition this season after a maternity break and won the silver medal as the mother of a one-year-old son, Kryštof. She traditionally competed with a moustache drawn in Czechia’s national colours and added a blue dot representing her son.

“Because I made a mistake between the fourth and fifth turns, I think I deserved the silver. If I hadn’t made that mistake, maybe I could have won. It was four hundredths of a second, but it’s great. Considering I had a year off and didn’t race at all last year, this is really the best it could have turned out.”

Besides Adamczyková, other athletes who are already mothers also took part in this year’s Olympics. The Czech snowboarder expressed her admiration for them shortly after the race as well.

Metoděj Jílek|Photo: Pavel Mazáč, CNC/Profimedia

“It is amazing. There were three of us moms here, and a fourth, Lindsey Jacobellis, was commentating. It was tough racing against all the moms. They’re all awesome. All the women, the mothers, who are pulling it off like this.”

A few hours after Adamczyková, speed skater Metoděj Jílek also succeeded, this time winning gold in the 10,000-meter race. Right after the race, he was embraced by speed skating legend Martina Sáblíková, who ended her more than 20-year career at this year’s Winter Olympics.

“It definitely means a lot to me. I’m incredibly happy that such a legend supports me at all. She also sent me a nice message this morning, and I’m truly grateful for that support. I certainly owe part of this performance to her as well.”

The admiration among the sports colleagues is mutual.

Eva Adamczyková, Josie Baff and Michela Moioli|Photo: Hannah McKay, Reuters

“I would say he’s almost unique, because in the past few years I haven’t seen anyone who puts so much into it, who is so determined and conscientious. What he does and the way he approaches it is unbelievable to me. At 19 years old! Many people take a long time to mature into that. At 19, you often still don’t really know. So hats off to him for handling it all. He said he was going for the gold — and he went and got it.”

Speed skater Jílek still has two races ahead of him in Milan: the 1,500-meter speed skating event and the mass start race. Whether he can turn his performances in these events into victories will be decided on February 19 and 21.