“I tell young people that they don’t have to cut off their leg in order to gain the will and determination to achieve something. We all have similar qualities, we just have to find them,” says Jiří Ježek, the most successful cyclist in Paralympic history, who lost his leg in a car accident at the age of ten. “The injury helped me in a certain way, but why would I rejoice over the fact that I don’t have a leg? No. You have to go after success and deserve it.”
Jiří Ježek started cycling at the age of nineteen, and during a more than twenty-year career he won six Paralympic gold medals, six world champion titles, countless other awards and is the most successful cyclist in Paralympic history. Despite his handicap, he competed with the best healthy professionals in the world. We present his story as part of the series It will be fine.
“I crossed the boundaries of Paralympic sports. I was one of the first in the world to be able to transfer my love and enthusiasm for sports into a professional career. I don’t hide that I also earned decent money from sports. Now, after the end of my career, I probably wouldn’t have to work anymore, but the desire accepting constant challenges remained for me. I don’t want to sit at home and enjoy comfort,” says Ježek, who stopped racing six years ago.
Series It will be good
If someone likes bad news, he is living in a happy time. However, there are a bit too many of them lately for an ordinary mortal. The light at the end of the tunnel is a cliché, but it is true that even in the blackest darkness there is a phosphorescent firefly flying somewhere that will lead us out of the darkness, you just have to look for it, or at least know about it. In the series It will be good, we decided to bring stories of people who at some stage in their lives found themselves at the bottom, but did not give up, persevered and got back on their feet, or on the one left after an injury. Their carom in life then became a pillar of their resilience, an invaluable experience that pushed them forward. We hope that their stories will become a positive point that will light a new path for you too.
Change brings new opportunities
He currently hosts a program about cycling and running on Radiožurnál Sport in the Czech Radio, is an ambassador for sports brands that sponsored him during his racing years, tests sports equipment, moderates sports and social events and gives lectures for private companies and institutions as an inspirational speaker.
“They hire me in cases where, for example, there are changes in the company. Each of us likes certainty and a well-established system, and when something unexpected happens, we are afraid and take changes hard. Because I have experienced a lot of changes in my life and balanced I’m with them, I’m trying to show that there’s nothing to be afraid of and that every change brings new opportunities into life,” he explains.
“It is important to take change more as a challenge. Usually, when we look back after a few years, even an unsolicited change moves us to something better, brings something new. And if it is a change that does not bring anything good, such as the death of a loved one, at least it will teach us something. For example, it wasn’t until I lost my dad that I realized how little we saw each other, even though it was difficult. Now I try to devote myself even more to my loved ones,” says Ježek, who, in addition to overcoming obstacles and an attitude towards change lectures on hard work and personal commitment.
As much as a person gives to life, so much will be returned to him
“If we’re not willing to give our best and go the extra mile, we can’t expect to achieve anything. Life is fair. As much as you give, you get back as much. Not always and not immediately, but that daily commitment, consistency and honest work is a necessary prerequisite,” says Ježek, who traveled over 30,000 kilometers a year during his sports career.
Sport is still in the first place for him. “I love movement! As the falcons used to say – a healthy mind in a healthy body. It is my daily therapy, not only for the body, but also for the head. Every day, I first decide whether I can run or go for a bike ride. Then I adjust my work accordingly. Of course, it doesn’t always work out, but I try. And thanks to sports, I get a lot of energy for other work activities,” he describes his approach to life.
“The human body has really functioned only through movement since ancient times. In order to be physically and mentally healthy, we need to move. All processes are dependent on physical activity. Movement increases blood flow, flushes out necessary hormones, restores our health. If you look at people who they’ve been doing sports all their lives, they’re positive, they’re in a good mood and they look good. I’m not saying that sports is a cure-all, but it definitely helps us to be more resilient and feel optimistic.”
We played the I can handle it game
However, life brings moments when you need the help of those closest to you. Jiří Ježek experienced several of them and describes the first one, when he lost his leg below the knee at the age of ten. “That’s when I lied to my mom that I was going to play football with my friends, but we wanted to go to the Letensk orchards to play some tricks, try smoking and so on. I didn’t look around and ran across the road at the moment when a Tatra truck was passing by. Yes, lies have short legs …” recalls Ježek with a bitter smile.
“It was not easy, I was an active boy full of life who dreamed of a career as a football player, and suddenly I was lying in the hospital without a leg. At that moment, my family and friends helped me tremendously. We played such a ‘game’ that it was as if nothing was happening, that everything will be fine again,” recalls the athlete. Those around him tried to encourage him, and he, in return, tried not to reveal his inner insecurities and the depression he was experiencing.
“I tried to show that I could handle it. In fact, I was very fragile inside and I didn’t know what was waiting for me in life. It took a few days before I came to terms with it myself, but those first days are extremely important. That’s why even now I tell everyone to take care of the people around them. You never know when you’ll need them, not only family, but also friends,” says Ježek, who adds that he probably inherited the ability to overcome obstacles from his mother. “Mom is freaking strong. She absolutely proves my favorite saying that a woman can outlast a man,” she laughs.
If you want to yourself, the surroundings will help you
The accident was an important life lesson for him as well as for his later ability to gain the necessary support for his ideas. “It was then that I felt for the first time that if you fully show your determination to achieve something and do your best on your decision, the people around you will help you. Nobody wants to help someone who does things half-heartedly, without energy and enthusiasm,” says Ježek, who before due to an injury, he wanted to be a professional soccer player, but instead of soccer, he started riding a bicycle at the age of 19.
“A handicap doesn’t automatically make you a stronger person. A lot of people think that I have more willpower and a desire to achieve something because of a childhood injury. That’s probably partially true, but a prosthesis is not a big life win. I would take my leg back in an instant. But that it doesn’t work, so I’m at least grateful for the things that the accident taught me. In addition, every thing that I can do thanks to the doctors and prosthetic technologies brings great joy to my life,” he says.
Sonia was not jealous of the bike and supported me
According to him, Ježek’s racing career broke the moment he met his wife Soňa at the age of 23. Her dad was a successful cyclist, so she knew that if you want to achieve something in this sport, you have to dedicate all your time to the bike. She was not jealous of the bike, on the contrary, it was an important motivation for Jiří.
“I really respected her attitude. I was probably not the best partner in a relationship. In the beginning, I spent eight hours at work, then I immediately went to training for another two or three hours. I devoted almost all my free time to cycling. Sonia is not only my passion she understood, but above all she supported me. She cheered me on, went to races with me, drove the car, took care of me,” describes Ježek.
“It gave me energy that I don’t just do sports for myself, but also for her. She was genuinely happy that I was doing well, it was absolutely pure love. Your beloved girl is waiting at the finish line and you want to win for her. It’s not a cliché or a fairy tale , when I say that my career began to break into success at the exact time when I met Soňa,” recalls Ježek. The rock singer of the band The Bluemoon gradually went from being the wife of a successful cyclist to also becoming his manager.
“We spent our whole career together. I can’t imagine being away 300 days a year like other professional athletes and not seeing my wife. We spent a whole year together, training, racing, long car rides. We never minded, we don’t need each other since to rest ourselves. I guess we’re really destined for each other,” Ježek says with gratitude.
He adds, however, that they don’t have a wonderful relationship just because of luck. “You have to take care of love. I wake up in the morning and I want to spend the day for both of us, I want to take care of her. And Sonia feels exactly the same,” he says. “We support each other in our work activities, we motivate each other towards sports and a healthy lifestyle.” Fate did not grant them children, but they managed it together. “It’s a shame, but you can’t have everything. We have each other, and when we don’t travel so much anymore, we take care of at least three cats,” he adds with a smile.
I don’t have a negative emotion about the second injury either
An almost fatal accident ended his sports career in 2014. During the World Cup in the United States, a collision between two opponents left him seriously injured. Fortunately, the immediate intervention of doctors saved his life, but he still lost part of a lung, two ribs, his left pectoral muscle, a shattered humerus of his right hand, knocked out teeth and a broken nose. While one accident started his cycling career, the other ended it.
“The second one was perhaps even more serious. But it was especially difficult for Sonia. She stayed with me alone in America, I was in an artificial sleep for two days and no one knew what would happen. In the end, it was again shown what miracles doctors can do and what all human the body can handle it,” he says.
Half a year after the fall, he started racing again, but due to the lifelong effects of the injury, he never won another race. “I wasn’t worried, I was grateful that for a few more years I could be a part of the world I love. Maybe it was meant to happen. I probably would have had a hard time finding a suitable moment to end my career. The accident decided for me. I don’t have a negative emotion about the fall in America,” confides Ježek.
I go over everything in my head
For the first time after the end of his career, he felt relief. “Before every race, I doubted myself terribly. After all, I have doubts in everything I do. I always hesitate if I am prepared enough, if this or that was right. I go over everything in my head endlessly. I would like to be absolutely perfect in everything. But of course that’s not possible. So I worry and it costs me a lot of energy to think about it,” he says, recalling the difficult nights before races.
“At that time, today’s mental coaching and the help of sports psychologists were not common in sports, so I struggled with it alone and transferred my doubts to Soňa, to coach Viktor Zapletal or to my friends,” admits Ježek, who remembers the long night phone calls before the Olympic Games finals or before the start of the World Cup.
“I needed reassurance, support. With the end of my career, the stress stopped a bit. Even though working on television, moderating or broadcasting on the radio is the same pressure for me and a similar pressure on my inner insecurities. On the other hand, it is a form of healthy trepidation of the necessary respect for a situation where you don’t want to underestimate anything and give your best performance,” he says.
Even though professionalism bordering on perfectionism brought Ježek to the absolute pinnacle of sports, the athlete says that the most important thing is to love your work. “Pure joy and love must never disappear from an activity. Only then can we give it our maximum. Of course, we don’t all have to be successful businessmen, artists or athletes. That’s not even possible. But we should aim to want a nice and fulfilling life and want to do it nice to the people around you too.”
Video: I lost my hand but found the meaning of life. I had to be taught a lesson, says Štěpánek (January 9, 2022)
The meaning of life is to understand where my place is. Live with what you have. Every step forward counts, you can give up tomorrow, says the extreme athlete. | Video: Martin Veselovsky
