“We’re know we’re strong in certain sports”: Czechs eye Olympic success
Czech athletes are currently doing their final preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris, which get underway on Friday next week. But how many medals would be considered a success for the Czech team?
Canoeist Martin Doktor won two gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and carried the Czech flag in Sydney four years later.
But for the last 12 years Doktor has been sporting director of the Czech Olympic Committee.
On the eve of the 33rd Olympics in Paris the former canoeist says he is reluctant to make predictions – but says the Czech team are clearly competitive in some areas.
“We know we have a greater chance of medals in certain sports. We’re bringing several world champions. We know we’re strong in water sports – canoeing and water slalom – and have some hope there. We know we’re bringing Olympic judo champion Lukáš Krpálek. We have several medalists from world and European championships. If our athletes brought home 10 or so medals that would be totally fantastic.”
The Czechs picked up 11 medals, including three gold, at the last Olympics in Tokyo. The previous time, in Rio de Janeiro, it was 10, including one gold.
Getting back to Paris, the head of the Czech mission says there will be another, rather more poetic, way to measure the country’s success this time.
“In order to avoid predicting the exact number of medals, I prefer to say that I hope our athletes bring as large a chunk of the Eiffel Tower as possible back to Czechia. All of the medals include a bit of metal that comes directly from the renovation of the tower – so the more of that we have, the better.”
This year’s Olympics are the first in Europe since London 2012 and thousands of Czech fans are expected to make the relatively short journey to Paris.
Martin Doktor, who has visited the French capital several times in recent months, says it’s a wonderful opportunity for people to experience an Olympics at first hand.
“Getting there isn’t that simple and the system for buying tickets was relatively complicated. Accommodation is also an issue. But I think it will be worth it, because I think the atmosphere in Paris will be wonderful, not just at stadiums but also at fan zones and at the Czech House and other national Olympics centres. I’m glad that anyone who’s interested can go to Paris and see it for themselves.”
The sporting director of the Czech Olympic Committee also expects Paris 2024 to do its utmost to outshine London 2012, in a spirit of national rivalry.
“The Olympics in London were wonderful and I expect the French will want to outdo London. And if that does happen, they will be a fantastic games. I’m looking forward to them a lot.”
