Rome (from our reporter) ‑ Like any coach, he likes his charge to give the maximum to athletics. And not only in training. Vadlejch fulfills this disposition perfectly, and this is a basic prerequisite for Železný, so that they can lead the joint journey even to the dreamed Olympic gold.
In Rome, Vadlejch found himself in the position of the man in charge of saving the medal balance of the Czech team. And it’s not the first time at a big event. How is it for the psyche?
It’s hard for Cuba, I don’t envy him when it’s said: We’ll get one medal thanks to you. He feels it, but he has learned to work with that pressure. I’d like it if we had maybe four medal contenders, one or two of which always drop out. That’s how it used to be, seven people could make a medal and four won it. It’s not a joke. It is necessary for young people to stay in athletics, in the javelin it is often nothing, nothing and suddenly you throw. Kuba has a somatotype and is a hard worker. Then you have a girl, one of the greatest talents I have ever seen. But she was as lazy as a louse and nothing would come of it.
Vadlejch has the season set up in such a way that the Olympics are his priority.
For example, I wouldn’t be able to throw Europe and the Olympics, I would be broken and unable to put myself together. But Cuba is different. He has the advantage that even when he doesn’t have a day, he throws a solid performance. I either threw really far or had a really bad day. But of course he has to stay healthy. He sacrifices an awful lot of races for the Olympics and then decides in one hour where Weber, Čopra, the Pakistani will want the gold…
Vadlejch has limited the number of races this year to be fired up for Paris. Good move?
Clearly. He chooses it, I can only recommend to the wards how many races they should go, I do not order them anything. The litters are such that you can do something and not get together in a month. And at the Olympics, you need to be able to say to yourself, whether you’re tenth or fifteenth, that you gave everything to success and didn’t make a mistake.
The fact that he has been healthy throughout the preparation in recent years is the basis of his stable performances.
Exactly. He is a statistician. He knows that in February 2022 he triple jumped 10.20 in training. I tell him, “Dude, you’re not saying that,” but he’s counting on it. Even in this, you can see how he experiences athletics. Even though he wasn’t so happy last year after the World Cup, I think he did well. I told him it was one of his best races. It wasn’t his day, but he made a good throw. And it was an important race for the head.
Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach, Reuters
Jakub Vadlejch, winner of the European javelin final in Rome.
You say you only recommend. Does Vadlejch take your advice?
I think he’ll give it to me, we’ve always agreed. The difference between him and the others is that he is a total professional. Really total, bigger than I was. He had enormous talent, at eighteen he threw far. Then he failed, some mocked him. But he had it in him and worked his way up. He gives it one hundred percent and that’s why he’s so good. Although I watch foreign competitors, they will never be like that because they will not say to themselves that I will be good now and I will do everything for it. So I recommend Kuba, he listens to me 95 percent of the time and that’s enough.
However, in the case of Vadlejch, professionalism is not only hours spent in training.
It’s everything, the morning warm-up, the food… If everyone trained in this extremely professional manner, we would have far more medals. But they usually tell each other among friends only when their careers are over: “I was a fool for not giving it more.” Then you realize that it was the best job you’ve ever had. You get paid for what you enjoy. Then you quit, maybe you have a better paying job, but you don’t enjoy it. And that time is over, playing with veterans doesn’t make much sense to me.
Can Vadlejch still improve in training at the age of 33?
It can improve in certain parameters, but it can’t do much anymore. A balance must be maintained. He’s already terribly strong, if he gets any stronger, it could be at the expense of jumping. I wish one more throw in his life would fly terribly, that it would be extraordinarily long. Perfect for the Olympics.
2024-06-12 21:29:34
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