The Czech Republic finished this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris with its lowest ever number of medals. However, Czech Olympic Committee (COV) President Jiri Kejval and mission head Martin Doktor struck a positive tone at a press conference yesterday to mark the end of the games.
They particularly highlighted the three gold medals, which are the main criteria for the medal ranking of countries. Aside from these, the Czech athletes won only two bronze medals, leaving the total two behind the country’s previous least successful Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.
The Czech team therefore finished 28th in the medal ranking at the Paris Olympics, dropping ten places compared to Tokyo, where they won a record number of 11 medals: four gold, four silver and three bronze. The United States topped the Paris standings, with 40 golds and 126 medals overall, followed by China and Japan.
The Czech Republic was waiting for its first medal in Paris for roughly a week, until Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac won the gold in the tennis mixed doubles, and the team of epee fencers unexpectedly became bronze medalists.
In the following days, many Czech athletes carrying high expectations ended in 4th place. Only at the very end of the Games, the Czech Republic saw two further gold medalists: Martin Fuksa, winning the 1000m canoe sprint race on Friday, and Josef Dostal, winner of the 1000m kayak sprint race on Saturday. They were followed by the surprise bronze medalist Nikola Ogrodnikova in the women’s javelin.
Three years after Tokyo, where the Czech team enjoyed a record number of eleven medals, another record came in Paris, this time a negative one. Despite this, the leaders of COV did not assess the Czech performance negatively.
“We are definitely satisfied with the three golds, the ending was fabulous,” said Kejval.
“For me, it’s great, it’s the gold that counts,” added Doktor.
They both noted that the line between success and failure can be very thin, especially so in some sports. This applies, for example, in the traditionally strong Czech discipline of water slalom, in which Czech contestants finished without medals on the wild water in Vaires-sur-Marne. The shooting group in Chateauroux did not gain a medal either, by similarly narrow margins, said Doktor.
None of the four Czech Olympic champions from Tokyo: kayaker Jiri Prskavec, judoka Lukas Krpalek, shooter Jiri Liptak, or the tennis women’s doubles team of Barbora Krejcikova and Siniakova, defended their golds.
On the other hand, Doktor recalled the sprint canoeists who were unlucky in Tokyo, but triumphed in Paris.
After two Olympic Games affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which were held without an audience, Kejval and Doktor highlighted the atmosphere in the sports venues of Paris.
The bronze medal match in fencing, in which the Czech team surprised the home French at the Grand Palais, was a great experience for both of them, they said. For Doktor, this duel was perhaps the greatest experience of the Games. Kejval said he regretted that there were not more Czech fans at the Olympics.
A total of 111 Czech athletes took part in the Paris Olympics.
“Half a year ago, even I did not dare to say that there would be over 110 athletes. That’s already a sign of quality. In this respect, we have maintained some level that was there before. It’s not going to be easy to maintain it,” Doktor said.
The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics took place last night, with the Czech flag carried by Ogrodnikova and Fuksa. The Paralympics will open in Paris on 28 August.
