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."
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