Sports News
Czech Tomas Enge has won the Formula 3000 French Grand Prix. Czechs have done well at the modern pentathlon world championships and runner Ludmila Formanova has finally qualified for the European Championships in Munich. Those stories and more are in Sports News.
Enge wins Formula 3000 French Grand Prix
In motor sport the Czech Formula 3000 driver Tomas Enge is just five points off the pace in the championship race, after beating France's Sebastien Bourdrais in the Formula 3000 French Grand Prix on Saturday. It was Enge's third win of the season, and he has four more races this year in which to catch up on Bourdrais, who leads the championship by five points. He had this to say after the race.
"Beating Bourdrais for the third time - and at his home track - is great. I managed to come first in the qualification race, and then to win the race itself and I had the fastest lap, despite having minor technical problems. I'm really glad that I won, and I hope I have a slight psychological advantage over him when it comes to first place in the over-all championship."
Tomas Enge last year became the first Czech ever to take part in Formula 1.
Czechs do well at modern penthathlon world championships
Czech athletes did well at the modern pentathlon world championships in California at the weekend. Twenty-two-year-old Michal Sedlecky took the gold in the men's event, which includes horse jumping, fencing, air pistol shooting, a 300-metre swim, and a 4,000-metre cross-country run. The women's relay team also came first, while the men's team took the silver.
Formanova changes kit and makes the grade for European Athletics Championships
Just over two weeks ahead of the European Athletics Championships in Munich, the Czech 800-metres runner Ludmila Formanova has finally achieved the time required to qualify. Two-times world champion Formanova wore a new strip and spikes when she competed at Monte Carlo on Friday - they seemed to do the trick, as she notched up a time of 1:59.09 to guarantee a place at Munich. From Monte Carlo Formanova sped to Ostrava, where - to the delight of the local crowd - she came first in the 400 metres at the Czech athletics championships in a time of 53.05 seconds.
Czech tennis team, minus Bedanova, trounces Canada to stay in Fed Cup elite group
The Czech women's team team have guaranteed themselves a place in the elite group of the Fed Cup next season. The Czech Republic made light work of Canada in the Fed Cup play-offs in Prerov at the weekend, losing only two sets as they took all five games. And that without leading player Daja Bedanova, who has come in from some criticism from coach Jan Kukal. Bedanova says she has back problems, but Kukal has accused her of trying to get out of playing for her country.
New football season kicks off Wednesday
Czech football fans haven't had to survive too long without a chance to cheer on (or boo as often happens) their favourite teams - some weeks ahead of most of Europe's leagues, the Czech football league kicks off again in just two days time, when favourites Sparta Prague take on Teplice at home on Wednesday afternoon.
