Emil Zatopek
Czechoslovakia
Athletics
Overall Ranks
#35 among Track & Field Athletes
#26 among Male Track & Field Athletes
#2 among Czechoslovakian Olympians
#1 among Male Czechoslovakian Olympians
Olympic Results
1948
5000m - Silver
10000m - Gold
1952
5000m - Gold
10000m - Gold
Marathon - Gold
Total
Events - 6
Gold - 4
Silver - 1
Emil Zatopek was born on September 19, 1922 in Koprivnice, Czechoslovakia, the seventh child in a large family, and started working at the local show factory when he was 16. One day, a coach picked out a few of the young workers at the factory and ordered them to run in a local race. Zatopek came in second, but he caught the running bug.
In 1944, he broke the national records in the 2000, 3000, and 5000 meter races. He continued improving, and by 1948 was expected to challenge for Olympic medals. His first event was the 10000m, where the favorite was Viljo Heino of Finland, the world record holder, and Heino led for the first 3000 meters before Zatopek overtook him. The two remained close for the next 3000 meters, but after Heino made a push to take back the lead, Zatopek pushed harder and pulled away, and Heino dropped out soon after. By the finish, Zatopek was ahead of the next racer by 48 seconds, and had lapped all but two other runners.
His next race was the 5000m, which took place in a heavy rainstorm. He took the lead early, with a pack of three other runners keeping pace behind him, but Gaston Reiff of Belgium made a move at the start of the ninth lap and pulled away from the others. He was ahead by 30 meters at the start of the final lap, and Zatopek made a hard push through the entire lap, but ended up falling short by 0.2 seconds and had to take the silver.
He broke the world record in the 10000m five times over the next four years, and didn't lose a single race over that time, so he was a big favorite to repeat in Helsinki in 1952. It was his first event, and once he took the lead in the 6th lap, he never looked back, beating the runner-up by more than 15 seconds and setting a new Olympic record, though he was still nearly 15 seconds short of his own world record.
Next up was the 5000m, where he was also the favorite, but this one would be much closer. Zatopek took the lead early, with 4 others keeping pace for several laps, and by the final lap, there was still a group of 4 runners led by Zatopek all together. The others all moved past him early in the final lap, but as the rounded the final corner, Zatopek shifted gears and passed all 3, winning the event by 0.8 seconds over Alain Mimoun of France, who had been runner-up to Zatopek in all 3 of his gold medal wins.
A few hours after winning that race, Zatopek watched his wife win the gold medal in the javelin throw, bringing yet another Olympic victory to the family. A few days later, Zatopek decided to try running the marathon, a race he had never run before. Jim Peters of Great Britain, the pre-race favorite, shot out fast, while Zatopek hung back with a couple of other runners. About halfway through, Peters started to slow down, and was passed by Zatopek and Gustaf Jansson of Sweden, but Zatopek never slowed down, eventually pulling away from Jansson and winning the race by over 2.5 minutes and setting a new Olympic record. He was the first to ever win all 3 distance events in the same Olympics, and so far the only one.
He planned to defend his Olympic titles in 1956, but suffered a hernia not long before the Olympics, which required surgery. He began training again as soon as he was allowed, but decided to only run the marathon in Melbourne, finishing in 6th place, about 4.5 minutes behind Mimoun, the winner. After finishing, Mimoun waited for Zatopek at the finish line, excited to share his victory, and Zatopek responded by saluting Mimoun.
He retired the next year, though his wife kept competing, winning the silver medal in 1960 before she hung it up. Zatopek had a falling out with the Communist Party in 1968, and was forced to work in menial jobs for the remainder of his life, but he deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.
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