Za-to-pek! Za-to-pek! Za-to-pek!
by Bob Phillips
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Zatopek Zatopek Zatopek The joyous rhythmic cry rang out from tens of thousands of spectators of every nationality in stadiums throughout Europe during the late 1940s and 1950s. Emil Zatopek was a Czech Army officer - from behind the impenatrable Iron Curtain, yet his wondrous running ability, his cheery personality and his abundantly generous nature swept away all political and geographical barriers as readily as he swept aside the opposition he faced on the track. Zatopek became a show more household name when he won the Olympic 10,000 metres at Wembley in 1948. Within a week at the 1952 Games in Helsinki he won the 5000 and 10,000 metres and then the marathon in his first attempt at the distance - a feat that cannot imaginably ever be equalled - and his wife, Dana, won the javelin. He broke a multitude of World records, and his Herculean training methods, sometimes running 400 metres 80 times in succession, inspired an entire generation. His commitment and achievements completely changed the face of athletics, and even when he was stripped of his military and civic honours after speaking out against the repressive Czech regime he remained forever a sporting legend in his lifetime. Wh show lessTags
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