Pole vaulter Amálie Švábíková and coach Štěpán Janáček ended their collaboration by mutual agreement. They made this joint decision before the Czech Athletics Championships, which took place in June 2024. The Czech record holder in the pole vault and the fifth woman in this year’s Olympics will prepare for the next season under the guidance of Jiřina Kudličková (née Ptáčníková).
The collaboration between Amália Švábíková and former pole vaulter Štěpán Janáček began three years ago. “I am grateful to Štěpán for all his work that we have done together over the past three years, and for how far I have moved in terms of performance. However, at the very beginning we agreed on a three-year cooperation, dating back to this year’s Olympics. After three years, I felt the need to take one more step forward, to gain new energy and motivation. However, I would like to point out that we parted in a friendly spirit and I wish Štěpán the best of luck in his future work. I met my new coach Jiřina Kudličková in the pole vaulting sector as a competitor. Even then, she gave me some of her knowledge, which helped me a lot, that’s why I turned to her.” says Amálie Švábíková.
In addition, while training Amália Švábíková, Štěpán Janáček also became the head coach of the Army Sports Center of the Ministry of Defence, adding to his many other work activities. “The three-year cooperation was beneficial for both parties. It was a great coaching experience for me. I gained a lot of new impulses, insights and knowledge that I can further develop and utilize. Nevertheless, we mutually agreed to end the cooperation. The reasons are, among other things, the change of my tenure to the position of head coach in Dukla Prague and also the fact that Amálka is a member of the USK Prague section, which was often quite complicated organizationally. I believe that Amálka will do well in the coming years and will bring medals from major events and be the driving force of Czech athletics. I am convinced that he has the potential to do that,” adds Štěpán Janáček.
The head coach of the Czech Athletic Association, Pavel Sluka, notes the termination of cooperation: “A three-year period of fruitful cooperation has passed. Amálka Švábíková chose Jiřina Kudličková to work with, who will be her head coach. The Czech Athletic Association together with the VICTORIA departmental sports center, where she is a member, will continue to fully support her. We are ready to be helpful in putting together an optimal implementation team that will lead Amália to further success in the new OH cycle.
Former pole vaulter Jiřina Kudličková also commented on her new role: “When Amálka approached me, I was actually a bit taken aback and surprised. We know Štěpán well, he is a great coach, and he and Amálka have achieved exceptional things. I have been following their performance progress, results and achievements since the beginning, so I was surprised that they want to end this working cooperation. I thought about her offer for a long time and it was not an easy decision. I take this new role with humility and respect. I believe that we can build on the successful wave and maybe push it a little further,” she said European champion from 2012.
