How often do you meet?
Kratochvílová: Sometimes yes. Lada travels to the training camp in Čáslav, Pardubice, where she trains, they are not far away. I had a charge of about the same age, so I saw Lada at the races from the students.
Lada is still a long way from your time, yet she is often likened to you. The range of running distances and the ability to handle several different runs in one race…
Kratochvílová: Certainly, he manages these combinations relatively well, there is potential in her. But I just told her that she still had a lot of work to do, and I trained for a long time. When Lada is healthy and loves athletics, it is possible. And then she finds her track that will entertain her.
World record holder in the octopus Jarmila Kratochvílová.
Milan Malíček, Right
Where do you see her? A lot of people predict her eight-year-old, which Lada doesn’t really want…
Kratochvílová: If you want to be a good quarterback, you have to master a fast two hundred and a hundred. And if she wants to be a good half-breeder, she has to have a fast Thursday. It is sometimes a problem for the world’s eight-time players that they do not have such a fast time of 400 meters. Today, half is actually the longest sprint. I see Lada there too. He runs his head, not a racer to burn it. And the octopus has to run through his head. But I don’t want to persuade her, I’m still a quarterback at heart. That was my discipline, even though I have a world record on another track.
Vondrová: I think it takes time. I still have a better time on Thursday, so I have no reason to move. But again, I’m not fast enough to keep improving on Thursdays, and endurance can be trained better. When the day comes that I will not accelerate on the four hundred, we will probably start to focus on more perseverance.
Your coach Jaroslav Jón admits that he was also inspired by coach Kváč. So sometimes it reminds you that the training that Jarmila Kratochvílová completed is waiting for you?
Vondrová: He said that about some of them, but I haven’t mastered them yet… (smile) As Mrs. Kratochvílová says, there is still a lot of work ahead of me, rather we are really inspired by it.
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The joyous surprise of Lady Vondrová after her great performance during the extraleague at Juliska.
TIME – Denisa Kisialová
You are similar in that neither of you rushed to Prague for conditions, but you stayed with your coaches, even as members of the center. Do you believe this is the right way?
Vondrová: I am glad that I can stay in Pardubice. I’m away from what’s happening in Prague, sometimes I get news that I should go there or to another coach, but I think that would be stupid. I have the best background in Pardubice that I can wish for, it works for us with the coach, so I have not the slightest reason to go somewhere.
Kratochvílová: Certainly. I tried it on myself. Although I competed for the Prague team, I trained all my life in Čáslav. Although I then trained Hanka Benešová and Lída Formanová. We were far from those centers where often everyone in the stands can do it best. The training did not interfere with so many influences and it is good that Lada remains. He has peace and a good coach.
You were in the top together with Taťána Kocembová, Ludmila Formanová with Hana Benešová or Helena Fuchsová. Now, together with Lada, there is another huge talent, Barbora Malíková. It can probably be a great help to have quality competition at home.
Kratochvílová: It’s definitely motivation. When I finished, Táňa then told me: “It’s such a shame that you don’t run anymore. Suddenly I don’t have that much motivation, it occurs to me that I will calm down with victory when there is no rival behind me. ”I’m happy when there are more girls, and they can do a good relay. That’s a great thing for Thursday, I was very motivated when I didn’t just run for myself. I would like two more fast girls to be added.
In addition, the Czech team, together with other talent Matěj Krsk, could have high ambitions even with a mixed relay…
Kratochvílová: That’s right, you weren’t for us.
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Jarmila Kratochvílová and Lada Vondrová at Athlete in 2020.
TIME – Aleš Gräf
How did you perceive the boom of world records on cross-country tracks this season? Have your words been confirmed that with less racing, there is a better chance of records?
Kratochvílová: I attribute this to the fact that the runners did not make a fuss about these special times and focused on certain races. They are mostly modest people, they can work even at a time when we say to ourselves that if we have a closed stadium, we will not train so much. They did not decide that there would be no Olympics, and they focused on world records.
Lighting technology to replace human wires often helped them. Aren’t you afraid that it will help you break your record on the octopus?
Kratochvílová: When on one does not have it, the record will not run anyway. You may have the latest shoes, but it still has to be in you. It can probably help if you have the line in front of you, I’m happy when such conditions appear, but it’s still in work and training.
Vondrová: I see it the same way, I think it’s useless to argue about it. They could have good conductors there instead of a line… Whoever has the record can handle it with or without a light line.
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Lada Vondrová and her joy after the victory in the 200 meters.
Ivana Roháčková
You had a fantastic first half of the season this year, you ran one personal record after another. Then came a slight attenuation, what do you attribute it to?
Vondrová: I guess I swallowed a little and wanted a lot. I had problems with my legs, but I wanted to catch up, as I had invitations to my first Diamond Leagues, they are not refused. It was a mistake, I had to cut the season right after the national championship, when my leg hurt. I knew in my head that I wasn’t the way I wanted me to be. My fault.
What slowed you down? Again at a young age, a fatigue fracture?
Vondrová: Yes, this time on the other leg, after the last diamond I went for a resonance.
How do current travel restrictions due to coronavirus affect your preparation?
Vondrová: We go to an ordinary cottage, but our concentration there was canceled after the restrictions. We don’t go anywhere in the heat, we’re not used to it. We run in a park near Pardubice, that’s enough for us.
The Golden Stirrup should take place on May 19
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At the same time, today, under normal circumstances, more and more young athletes fly to Africa, to the Canary Islands… Even in this modesty in terms of conditions, you are both similar.
Vondrová: I’m a girl from the village. It never occurred to me that I would go to a concentration camp in Africa. I really don’t miss it. I was in the Canary Islands, but paradoxically I didn’t like it there. There were a lot of people there, I need my peace, I have it in Pardubice.
Kratochvílová: I think that’s right, no luxury is needed. I never experienced it, and yet I did something. When I trained Lida and Hanka, sometimes we were somewhere. But they also grew up in the village, we were in the Canary Islands twice and then Hanka told me that she no longer wanted to stay in Čáslav. Such a mania subsided when Honza Železný traveled to Africa and he succeeded in making it ideal for training. I always thought that one section in the heat is like three in the winter, so I preferred to run three at home, so I was motivated. I didn’t even know the Canary Islands existed. I once said to the coach, “Look, shouldn’t we go somewhere too?” And he replied that you could train on manure. And he was right.
Do you continue to train mainly children in Čáslav, does it still fill you?
Kratochvílová: I don’t have a large group, every year I wonder how many people will leave again after graduation. There are no colleges, people are leaving. I’ve been doing it for a lot of years, sometimes I have a crisis, I tell myself that I’m going to cough it up and I’m not going to the stadium. But in the morning it’s different again. I really like athletics. Every time I see a girl or a boy running well, I say to myself: Damn, it’s so nice, why aren’t there even more people doing athletics?
| Jarmila Kratochvílová |
| Born: On January 26, 1951, she grew up in Golčov Jeníkov |
| Sections: Slavoj Čáslav, University of Prague |
| Coach: Miroslav Kváč |
| Personal records – 100 m: 11,09 (1981), 200 m: 21,97 (1981), 400 m: 47,99 (1983), 800 m: 1:53,28 (1983) |
| Individual achievements: world champion at 400 m and 800 m (1983), silver at the 400 m Olympics (1980), vice-champion of Europe at 400 m (1982), indoor champion of Europe at 200 m (1984) and 400 m (1981, 1982, 1983), Indoor Vice-Champion of Europe at 400 m (1979) |
| Lada Vondrová |
| Born: On September 6, 1999, she grew up in Sedliště |
| Sections: Athletics Polička, Hvězda Pardubice, USK Prague |
| Coach: Jaroslav Jón |
| Personal records – 100 m: 11,86 (2020), 200 m: 23,40 (2020), 400 m: 51,35 (2020), 800 m: 2:04,45 (2020), 400 m BC: 56,78 (2019) |
| Individual achievements: European vice-champion under 23 (2019), semifinalist of the World Championship (2019), this year 4th in the world tables in the hall and 9th outside, all at 400 m |
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