If there is one person next to whom you should not pronounce Emil Zatopek’s name, it is without a doubt Jim Peters. On July 27, 1952, the British cross-country skier, world record holder in the marathon (42 km 195 in 2 h 17 min 39 s 4), felt himself in good shape, ready to pass under the 2 h 15 mark on arrival in the stadium Helsinki Olympic Games. But at the 19e kilometer, his plan seriously derailed. The attack on the “Czech Locomotive” (Czechia officially was born in 1969) left him there – he retired a little later.
Nothing can prevent Zatopek from heading for the post …
