Speed skater Martina Sáblíková is already entering her 23rd season. The 36-year-old three-time Olympic champion still has the biggest goals and one interesting finish ahead of her.
During her career, Sáblíková won 146 medals across all competitions, so this year she can round this number to 150.Of course I would be tempted. But we’ll see how it all goes. I’m 36 years old and I’m going to fight girls in their twenties. So it’s not that simple. I don’t want to say that I’m going into the season with no energy, but it’s different than when I was younger,” explains the Czech skating queen.
Martina Sáblíková is already in her 23rd season on the skating ovals. However, he still has a great taste for speed skating. “Maybe it’s not the same as when I was twenty-five, but I’m really looking forward to the start of the season and when the racing starts. I don’t want to say that I don’t have expectations, I hope to ride what I’m used to, but we’ll see,” says the triple an Olympic champion who plans to compete at the Olympics in Italy in 2026. That will make her 38 years old.
”I won’t meet the 40-year-old anymore. I enjoy it and I will miss it in an unreal way, but I think it will be a bit over the edge,” assures Sáblíková that the end of her career is approaching after all. This year, the Czech speed skater has two peaks ahead of her – the WC on individual tracks and the WC in quadruple.
New blood also appeared in Martina Sáblíková’s training group in the form of her younger sister Barbora. “She was with us for the first time at the training camp in Italy. I really like her enthusiasm, she is tenacious. It is perfect to look at her now with the passage of time. Seeing her youth, how much she wants and how she takes me as a role model at the same time, Sáblíková assesses her 13-year-old sister.
”I try to tell her not to go all out in every training session. We’re similar in that. You tell her to run for a watch, and she runs almost on time,” laughs the Olympic champion.
TN.cz
