EMIL ZATOPEK

London Olympics are just around the corner and it is the same time again: wetty months and once in four years spectacle: Summer Olympics. London Calling. The City of Twenty Twelve, as the British media say. Although the beginnings of the games seem to be less than pleasant as the state of security, transportation and other logistics indicates. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: there will be some moments that will go down in the pages of history as the greatest and some images will be imprinted on viewers' minds for good. That happens in any sporting event of international fame. Who doesn't remember the likes of Jesse Owens, Emil Zatopek, Bob Beamon, Alberto Juantorena, Sergei Bubka and Carl Lewis? These are just a few names and if we take a serious, long look at Olympics, the list of greats is very, very long. 

Let us pick Emil Zatopek as a short and crisp case study. Emil was a Czech long distance runner and what he did in 1952 Helsinki Olympics, may well remain a record forever. His feat is unlikely to be repeated ever. He won golds in 5,000 m and 10,000 m and then suddenly decided to have a go at the marathon, his first ever! And he won gold! Three golds in three excruciating races within a short span of eight days was something no one had ever planned to do. After winning the 5,000 and 10,000 m races, he was still unsatisfied and decided to try out marathon, a race he had never run. He decided to test his nerves and his stamina and the limits he could push himself up to. He was also known the world over for setting himself an unbelievably hard and brutally tough training methods. Searching for the last minute guidance, the scrawny Zatopek approached world record holder Jim Peters of Britain at the starting line. Since the Czech knew nothing of marathon strategy, he planned to shadow the champion. He even checked with Peters en route if his pace was OK! He set the pace and gradually increased the lead, finishing the race in a new record time. Earlier he had broken 5,000 and 10,000 m records. All this in eight days time frame! He had been warned by his doctor that he should not compete in Olympics at all as he was recovering from a severe gland infection. But he defied his doctor and how! His pet quote after winning the marathon became, "If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon."

Emil dominated the long distance racing between 1948 and 1954, winning 38 consecutive 10,000 m races, 11 of them in 1949 alone. He set 18 world records in races ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 m and won a total of four golds and one silver in two Olympics.

Zatopek was the first athlete to break the 29 minute barrier in the 10,000 m run in 1954. Three years earlier, in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20 th century.

Born on 19 Sep 1922, he died on 22 Nov 2000 in Prague. Ron Clarke, an Australian middle and long distance runner, who himself set 17 world records, said "There is not, and never was, a greater man than Emil Zatopek."