Czech javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch at a meeting of the Diamond League in Lausanne.
Valentin Flauraud, ČTK / AP
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After returning from Tokyo, many successful Olympians are already participating in more social events. Have you made the successful completion of the season a priority?
I have completed only the essentials, with the proviso that as long as there are races, I want to focus fully on them. Zurich will be the last, then finally comes the vacation I was on four years ago. I’m looking forward to turning it off and my wife and I go to a spa in the Czech Republic and then to Turkey.
At your last meeting in Paris, you felt a groin that made you have to miss much of the season. So will you be able to throw in full in Zurich?
I was right on the son, there was a bit of swelling, but it’s okay, I packed the race at the right time. Now it’s good, it was just fatigue of the material, as we threw two races in three days with the crossing and in colder weather. When we laughed after the race, maybe maybe six of us caught the groin…
Crazy, Hejnová shakes her head. Nevertheless, she set herself a very bold goal
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Obviously, you don’t have a problem with motivation even after the Olympics, whether it’s a smaller race in the Czech Republic or the Diamond League, you always attack 85 meters.
No, it’s also during the season that I saved my groin before the Olympics to endure. And when I succeeded and I confirmed that the body is doing well, I wanted to use the mold. In retrospect, I’m glad I wrapped up last season, when I was in pain and my head needed to rest. From 2016 to 2019, I toured the races intensively, now I have rested and gained the greatest desire for races that I remember. It will be suitable for the next years as well, we will have two world championships, the Olympics, another world championship, and in those four years I want to show the best possible performances.
You have a lot of good memories of Zurich.
I didn’t do one race here once, but since then I’ve been doing well here, thanks to the two wins, the hard surface fits me a lot. The last time I was here was the sixth time, but I narrowly stepped 87 meters, which could have been my longest throw of the season.
Do you welcome the fact that the model is dropped, when the last three places were decided by the last series?
I didn’t know that, but I’m definitely happy, just good for athletics, because these almost exhibition rules aren’t ideal, a runner had to come up with that. (smile) The system where you first throw a world record and you finish third is upside down.
It will be unusual for you to meet Nikola Ogrodníková and Barbora Špotáková in the sector, men and women will take turns after the series…
That’s weird, I don’t know how it occurred to them. Especially for girls, I don’t know if it’s motivating when we throw twenty or more meters away. The judges will run there between 65 and 90 meters, so the competition can be quite long…
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