Announcement of the Czech fair play club awards for 2022, June 8, 2023, Prague. Former cross-country skier Gabriela Soukalová.
Prague – This year, the main prizes of the Czech Fair Play Club for lifelong attitude were won by skier Gabriela Soukalová, silver Olympic medalist from Sarajevo in 1984, and athletic trainer Jana Jílková. The president of the club, Šárka Strachová, and the president of the Czech Olympic Committee, Jiří Kejval, presented them at today's announcement ceremony in Prague.
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Soukalová, who won the Sarajevo silver in the running relay under the name Svobodová, worked as a biathlon coach after her active career ended. A number of representatives passed through her hands, in whom she instilled the principles of sportsmanship in addition to the basics of skiing. She also raised her daughter Gabriela, the owner of a number of big biathlon medals, to world firsts. “From my sports career, I remember best the best results and the team we had. Back then it wasn't about money, so there was no envy. We still meet today and it's very nice,” said Soukalová when she received the award.
The principles of fair play were also essential for coach Jílková, who dedicated her whole life to athletics. At first, she competed in sprints and the long jump herself, then she led a number of representatives, for example the Czech record holders in the 100-meter hurdles Iveta Rudová and Lucia Škrobáková. “I had a beautiful sports life, I am terribly grateful to all the athletes I had,” she said. Her granddaughter, tennis player Tereza Martincová, is also successfully involved in the sport.
Extraleague hockey player Petr Jelínek, for example, received an award for a fair act, who, as captain of the White Tigers of Liberec in last year's playoff with Sparta, convinced the referees to overturn the opponent's expulsion. “I think that fair play should be a matter of course in every sport. All of us top athletes want to win, but not at any cost,” he said. after a serious accident in the Czech Cup race in Kyjov, he saved the life of Austrian rider Marc Friedrich.
