Not that participation in the games itself would be a goal for the Czech record holder. “But it’s great that I’m calm,” he admits at the beginning of the final preparations before the world championship in Budapest.
He started the season brilliantly, with a performance of 21.71 m in Turnov, but he did not improve in any of the next ten starts. Also because of knee problems. It was only now, before his trip to Hungary, that he was assured that the fazona was back.
“I more or less calculated that the form should graduate. And the whole series is positive,” praises the record, which includes two more attempts over the 21.40 mark. “I think the form will still carry over to the World Cup, so I’m looking forward to showing myself in the best possible light in Hungary,” he believes.
His competition will take place in a single day. Right from the opening, when the qualification is on the program on Saturday morning, in the evening from 20.35 the final. “It will be difficult, as we have the entire competition in one day, but I definitely want to advance to the finals,” says Petr Stehlík’s protégé, who was the highest so far fourth in London six years ago.
Among those registered, he ranks tenth with an indoor performance of 21.90 m. And in order to fight with the elite, he needs to be completely healthy. “After the Diamond League in London, the crack in my knee healed, it didn’t limit me in training and I could do squats again,” he breathed after the training session in Jablonec nad Nisou.
To Budapest by car
“I don’t have to work with the technique and I throw to the fullest. Ideal in front of the world,” he praises himself before his racing debut in the Hungarian capital.
“It’s a short distance, so on Thursday we can skip training with the coach, as we’re used to, then drive to the venue together. Tune in the next day and then the race immediately,” he describes his program.
