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The bronze of Slovak speed canoeists at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in the K4 discipline was not born easily. The quartet Samuel Baláž, Denis Myšák, Erik Vlček, Adam Botek paddled to the finish line just in front of the Russian ship and the most experienced of the four Vlček hesitated for a while whether it would really be a medal.
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However, the Slovaks finally finished third with a loss of 1,315 seconds to the victorious Germans, but the fourth Russians lost only 120 thousandths to the bronze. “I looked and froze when I saw the Russians next to us. Because they didn’t give an excellent performance in any of the rides. It surprised me. I needed someone to shout from the shore that we were third. I didn’t want to look forward to it.” said Vlček, the first six-time Slovak Olympian, after the race.
Myšák was also satisfied, for whom the Olympics in Tokyo was second, he won silver in Rio: “I am happy that we were able to stand on the podium again. It was decided in the last meters, it was tight. I think we have a lot of strength left for him.”
The youngest 23-year-old crew member Samuel Baláž was towing a boat in the role of a “hook”. He presented himself in Tokyo together with Botek in K2, but in this discipline they missed the final. “I’m really looking forward to it. It wasn’t easy after K2, but in K4 it was already a good start and I believed. It’s a great joy after all the preparation. We were really looking forward to this race, for this minute and twenty seconds,” said Baláž.
Filip Petrla, Sports Director of the Smooth Waters Section of Slovak Canoeing, emphasized in particular that the Slovak four-seater managed to undergo difficult training: “We all hoped for this result, we thought about the medal for two years. It was difficult for the boys. They had limited conditions, no movement and measures, they had nowhere to ventilate. They had lion syndrome in the cage, they just waited for it to be released on “We’re grateful that we did it. It’s a pity that K2 didn’t work out for us, but Samo and Adam also knew that they were mainly here to succeed in K4.”
Erik Vlček is not going to retire after winning the fourth Olympic medal. After the K4 1000m race at the Tokyo Olympics, he said that he still has the motivation to race, even though the competition is huge. However, it is she who motivates him.
Slovak quartet
Source: TASR
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In Tokyo, Káštvorka took care of the fifth Olympic metal for Slovak speed canoeing in the era of independence. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Slovak flagship won silver, at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens it was bronze – always on the 1000 m track. With all the successes, Vlček, the ten-time world champion and eleven-time European champion, won the fourth Olympic metal in the record sixth Olympics.
“Thank God I still feel good. I was able to fight my way to the quad bike, there’s still something in me. I wouldn’t like to end it now unless I have a serious reason for it. I don’t have a problem with training, I still enjoy it, I have results. So motivation. I’m going to rest and probably go even further, “ he said a few minutes after arriving.
For Vlček, the medal from OH 2020 has a specific flavor. He was nominated for the Tokyo K4 only thanks to an internal qualification, in which he defeated Csaba Zalka in a shooting at Bratislava’s Zemník. “I told Csab before the qualification that no matter how it turned out, that we would continue to support each other. I know what it must be like for him,” added Wolf.
An experienced canoeist also stated that he is still willing not only to play sports, but is also ready to give up in private life: “If you have results, it’s still worth it. He still wants to get up in the morning. We have young guys around, I see they want, there’s a good team around me, and that’s an aspect I want to cover.”
By participating in Tokyo, Vlček became the first Slovak athlete to record his sixth Olympic start. “Making six Olympics seems to me that it went naturally after a row, but when you realize what’s behind it, it’s not just sticking to the top of the form. Now it’s easy to tell me that it was a trifle, but I realize that this will be difficult to imitate, especially in a performance sport like canoeing. It’s a challenging sport and performance needs to be confirmed. Especially when it has great competition at home. I have a nice career. “ added Wolf.
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