The Future of Czech Athletics: A Look at the Next Generation

The raw numbers of athletic statistics can be interpreted in different ways. Looking at the medal balance is not at all cheerful. The only medal the Czechs took from the European Championship was from Barcelona 2010, otherwise the Czech flag was raised two to five times when it was announced. Twelfth in the nation’s scoring? It won’t offend or excite.

A bigger promise is the age composition of the other athletes who made it to the elite eight. Quadruple runner Gloria Lurdes Manuel and distance runner Petr Meindlschmid, only 18 years old. Obstacle runner Nikoleta Jíchová, 22 years old. Height lifter Jan Štefela, 23 years old. Pole vaulter Amálie Švábíková and sprinter Tomáš Němejc, 24 years old. Only 33-year-old Tomáš Staněk and Nikola Ogrodníková deviate in age.

Just behind them, Vadlejch and distance runner Radek Juška, there was a generation gap of athletes who reached the ideal age, but did not have the performance to fight for big medals. And there was a threat that when the generation of 30-somethings ends, Czech athletics will face very lean years.

The junior championships in recent years have already indicated that it may not be so bad. But the turning point comes during the transition between adults, mentally and physically demanding, which breaks many a talent.

And the seven days of competition at the Olympic Stadium showed, at the very least, that new athletic blood does not spill on the big stage. In particular, the performance of the trio of teenagers, who are still waiting for the junior world championship this year, excited me.

Photo: Manon Cruz, Reuters

Gloria Lurdes Manuel after the quarter final of the European Championship in Rome.

Gloria Lurdes Manuel, Petr Meindlschmid and midfielder Jakub Dudycha were able to improve their personal and national junior records in Rome. Dudycha is also close to the senior, Meindlschmid and Manuel made it to the final in the elite continental competition.

It’s not a guarantee that they’ll start winning medals soon, but at least it’s proof that their heads are set right. And it’s very good that they also met Vadlejch on the expedition and were able to closely watch the golden peak (perhaps not the last) of his efforts.

Let’s believe they were watching his journey carefully. Then they saw how, also in the position of a huge talent, he was banging on the final door of big events for a long time in vain. After that, for a similarly long time on the podium, he dreamed of climbing to the top. But he persevered and with training hard work and professionalism, which his coach Jan Železný admires, he got to where he wanted on Wednesday evening.

With the exception of a few lucky ones, no athlete can avoid failures, injuries or periods of stagnation. But if the athletic generation Z is inspired by Vadlejch’s approach, the Czech fans in the stadiums may soon be happy again.

Michal Osoba

Michal Osoba has been working as a sports editor for the Sport.cz website and the Právo newspaper since 2002. He specializes in athletics, skiing, canoeing, floorball, judo, beach volleyball and American football, and is the author of the Mixzóna podcast. As a reporter, he worked at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022. He is also the co-author of the books “120 years of Czech athletics” and “Nemožeš? Add it! Czech Olympic Committee 120 years”.