“Exhausted but happy”: Czech speed skating icon Martina Sáblíková ends historic career at Milan Winter Olympics
After 20 years, the legendary career of Czech speed skater Martina Sáblíková has come to an end at the Winter Olympics in Milan. With her start in the 5,000 metres on Thursday, she became the first Czech athlete to have participated in six Winter Olympic Games.
The best speed skater in Czech history Martina Sáblíková finished 11th in her final race in Milan, still weakened by a recent viral infection. The 38-year-old long-track star crossed the finish line exhausted, but with tears of happiness in her eyes.
“It is very difficult for me right now. That was probably the hardest race of my life. On the other hand, honestly, it was the most beautiful 12 laps I have ever experienced.”
Sáblíková announced her plan to end her career a year ago. Before stepping onto the ice rink, she knew it would be her last Olympic race.
“Before the race, I tried not to think about it. When I was about to go down into the underpass before the start, I stopped and told myself I wouldn’t go there, because I knew it was for the last time. As I entered the stadium, I felt enormous support. I never thought I would experience anything like it.”
Sáblíková began her career more than 20 years ago. As a junior, she already achieved notable results at international tournaments. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won three medals — two gold (3,000 and 5,000 metres) and one bronze (1,500 metres), becoming the first Czech athlete to win two gold medals at a single Winter Olympic Games. With her participation in this year’s Winter Olympics, she also became the first Czech athlete to compete at six editions, bringing her total Olympic medal tally to seven. Nevertheless, her final start was marked by lingering weakness from a recent illness.
“I set off as if nothing had been wrong with me in the previous days. I paid for it as early as the third lap, but I knew I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to cross the finish line, even though I suffered tremendously over the last seven laps. With every lap, I felt incredible support. I want to thank everyone who was there, as well as those who supported me from the Czech Republic. Thank you to everyone who stood by me over the past twenty years. I couldn’t have wished for a better farewell — it was legendary.”
Sáblíková won the journalists’ poll Sportovec roku (Athlete of the Year) three times, and in 2010 she also became only the fifth woman in history to receive the prestigious Oscar Mathisen Award, presented by a skating club in Oslo to the world’s best speed skater of the year.
Through her sporting determination, tireless training, and public demeanor, she has become one of the country’s most successful athletes and a role model for others.
One of them is rising Czech speed skating star Metodej Jílek, for whom Milan 2026 marks his Olympic debut. He has already managed to win silver, and it seems he is successfully taking over the baton from the legendary Sáblíková.
Related
-
Czech Olympic outfits draw attention at Milan–Cortina opening ceremony
Czech athletes’ Winter Olympics outfits drew home criticism, but the bright sweaters and shorts turned heads and won international praise at the opening ceremony.
-
Speed skater Metoděj Jílek: Czechia’s teenage Olympic medal hope
One of Czechia’s biggest medal hopefuls is speed skater Metoděj Jílek, just nineteen years old and already a newly crowned long-distance World Cup champion.
