“I never expected that there would be so many people and that I would receive such a welcome,” she told reporters after attending a short tennis exhibition with Lucie Šafářová, the festival’s ambassador and also the Olympic tennis doubles medalist from Rio de Janeiro 2016. After bronze fencer Alexander To Choupenitch, the silver shooter David Kostelecký and his golden partner Jiří Lipták, Krejčíková became the fourth holder of the Olympic medal, which was applauded by the Olympic Festival in Brno. “I’m glad that the Moravians were doing well in Tokyo, it probably wasn’t expected much,” Krejčíková said.
For her, it was the first public and media appearance after her return. Unlike other medalists, she did not attend the admission ceremony in Prague and left everything to Brno. “The journey was long, perhaps sixteen hours. I slept a lot and woke up practically at home in Ivančice,” she described how she was tired from the demanding Olympic program.
“It was a very different tournament than we are normally used to. In what? In everything. We lived in a village with other athletes. When we arrived there, they welcomed us and got to know us, while some did not and I was a bit she was ashamed, “she admitted. And in ten days of staying in Tokyo, everything has changed. “We cheered for each other, there was an amazing atmosphere, we celebrated medals of other Czechs and they repaid us. It was one of the greatest experiences of the entire Olympics,” Krejčíková said enthusiastically.
Apart from the gold medal, she did not bring any other souvenirs from Japan. “Due to the restrictions that prevailed at the Olympics, we couldn’t go anywhere, so it wasn’t even possible to buy something,” she explained.
Even at home in all the hustle and bustle of travel, there was no time to welcome a larger feast in the family circle. At the same time, she does not tolerate any gastronomic specialties. Her favorite dish is ordinary potato goulash. “I haven’t had him yet, he’s waiting for him,” she revealed.
For a native of Brno, this was the second famous return home in a short time. In June, she was welcomed in Ivančice, where she now lives, as the winner of the Grand Slam Roland Garros. “When things go well, the returns are always nice. My loved ones experienced it with love, so it’s another great motivation for me,” said the tennis player with a gold medal around her neck with a smile.
He will now give the body a rest
Unlike doubling partner Siniaková, Krejčíková decided to change the program and not fly to the tournament in Montreal, which will start next week. She explained it by physical fatigue. “The body is very broken, it got caught. I have to give it back to him, skip something, rest, train and be 100% ready for other tournaments,” said Krejčíková.
Her current plan is now mostly to rest, but at the end of the week she will train again and another week on Thursday or Friday she will go overseas for a tournament in Cincinnati and then for the US Open in New York.
Krejčíková does not want to predict in what position she will find herself on the American courts as the winner of the French Open and the Olympic champion, even if “only” in doubles. “I’ve done everything I wanted, so I’m not putting any more pressure on myself. I’m going to face media pressure from the outside rather than on myself. I hope I’m somehow ready for it. Maybe it will work,” said the 25-year-old Olympic. winner.
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