Bled (from our correspondent) ‑ The twenty-six-year-old protégé of Tomáš Kacovský took bronze with a great pursuit ride on a non-Olympic lightweight skiff.
You were sixth in a quarter of the track, third at the finish line. Was the plan to accelerate gradually?
I’m so used to driving, I tend to be slower in the first 500 km. The track was shaky, my frequency was not good, so I was glad that I fought it out like that.
You defended the medal by less than three tenths, did you know it at the finish line?
A hundred meters before the finish line, I knew that my opponent was next to me, but then I didn’t know anything at all. It wasn’t until they started calling me after the finish line that I realized I was third.
Did the recent triumph at the less crowded World Cup give you confidence?
I definitely got a kick out of winning in Zagreb, I knew that the work I was doing was meaningful. But of course I was nervous. After all, it’s only the finals. And I haven’t gone many times, so I took it as a great experience with the fact that I have nothing to lose and can only gain, which I did.
Of the lightweights, only double sculls are raced at the Olympics. Will you go back to it?
It’s in the plan. My partner (Veronika Činková) she was ill for a long time and we should already be going to the third World Cup together.
You are a trained physiotherapist, don’t other rowers come to you with pain?
I do it rather exceptionally, when it is necessary, but we have a physiotherapist in the team, I am here as a competitor. Twice a week I do part-time physiotherapy in order not to become stunted, but it is impossible to combine full-time work with top sports, so I am enjoying my peak sports years.
