In the end, he reconsidered the plans for a competition-exhibition farewell during the World Cup in Prague in June, taking into account the busy program of competitions and the fact that he experienced a sufficiently emotional farewell at the last race of the domestic nominations.
“We didn’t plan anything, it was such an organic farewell to my friends, people who have kept my fingers crossed throughout my racing life. That was really wonderful,” he looks back on the last ride of his career.
She came at the same place where it all started. 28 years ago in autumn, nine-year-old Vávra came to Troja for recruitment. It was shortly after the Olympics in Atlanta, where Štěpánka Hilgertová won gold, Lukáš Pollert and Miroslav Šimek with Jiří Rohan won silver. “We rode on a beautiful wild river, I really liked the footage,” recalls Hradilek, explaining why he set out for the slalom channel.
“Already when we were coming and I saw that wave, which is not really a wave for me now, I thought to myself that I can never ride it. I was afraid for a long time,” he admits. From then on, he spent almost every day in the Troy Canal. “It’s my second home. I can’t imagine it ending with that last race and I never looked back. Not really,” he assures.
He gradually achieved the title of vice-champion of the world, silver at the London Olympics and a memorable world title in Prague’s Troja. Then his attention gradually expanded to the artistic and business spheres. He opened a kayaking bar, acted in a movie, appeared at sponsorship events, and at the end of his career he even danced in the StarDance competition. And so sports training sometimes suffered.
“If I had dedicated myself to slalom 100 percent and did not do other activities, I would probably have had more success, especially in the last years of my career. Because there wasn’t that much energy anymore,” he admits.
“On the other hand, it’s the path I chose and I don’t regret it. I think it is reasonable to sacrifice some sporting success in order to have something else in life. It was my escape from the rowing bubble,” he evaluates.
But he also succeeded in raising the profile of water slalom and, of course, earning extra money, which was especially useful at the beginning of his career. “When I first got into the national team, if I didn’t want to be with the club, we had 30,000 per season. For that, I could be in Brno with the boat, and I wanted to go to Australia, so I set off on my own,” he recalls.
Photo: Iva Roháčková
When saying goodbye to Vavřinec Hradilk, his wife Lucie and daughters Sára and Kayla could not be absent.
Hradilek started a successful era of men’s kayaking, which was the least successful Czech discipline at the time of its beginnings. But in recent years, before each season, it was certain that at least one world champion would not make it to the national team. After Hradilk, Ondřej Tunka, Vít Přindiš and Jiří Prskavec won the world title, who already has Olympic gold at home.
“For the last two years, I’ve really enjoyed watching Jíri’s races. I used to think he wasn’t always in full control of the rides, now he’s really in control. He is a phenomenon and I believe he will show something big in Paris. I remember him as a small boy in the shipyard, and even then he was a professional,” describes his successor.
He himself was an inspiration for many slalom skiers for many years in his professional approach. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to celebrate his successes properly. Even Přindiš and Prskavec called some joint parties legendary.
“Perhaps the title of world champion in Prague. We drank two bars in the city center. I opened an account and after 40 minutes a waitress came to me that it somehow went up. So maybe my entire reward from the union went to this party,” laughs Hradilek. Today, slalom parties tend to be quieter.
“Fifteen years ago there were more celebrations, today there are not so many celebrations. It’s nice when people say we can pull, but today the sport is more professional and if we want to be role models for young athletes, we can’t be drunk,” says the 37-year-old kayaker.
Now he can devote himself fully to his non-sports activities, which have made him even more famous than water slalom among many people.
“It was most visible just after the end of StarDance. The wife comes from Moravia. When I got there and went to the mall to buy a Christmas present, I had to get off the elevator one floor down… When I was racing, my fans were mostly not between the ages of 12 and 16 and over 60. That changed and it was nice,” he recounts.
Photo: Vlastimil Vacek, Law
A scene from the movie Once Upon a Time in Paradise. Joska Smítko, portrayed by Vavřinec Hradilk, says goodbye to his friends at the station.
The door is now open to other spheres, but he does not intend to open the political one. Although thanks to his activity on social networks, he has already received several offers to run for office in the elections. “But that’s not for me, I’ll be happy to continue speaking for myself, for a citizen,” he says.
At the same time, he disagrees with another prominent personality with a successful past in water slalom, Lukáš Pollert, on the vast majority of topics… “When he finished, I was tiny and I liked his speech, that he was not just an athlete and could express himself in a different way. But just because I liked him doesn’t mean I agreed with him,” he admits.
Why is the political debate with Pollert not appealing to him? How many times has he been to the ball? Why is he more careful on wild rivers after several tragic accidents of his friends? And would he be attracted by a career as a sports official, as with union president Stanislav Ježek or head of the Paris Olympics Tony Estanguet, also former slalom aces? He also talked about it in Mixzón.
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2024-05-23 09:01:25
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