Speed skater Martina Sáblíková wiped the tears of emotion during today’s acceptance of the bronze Olympic medal. She won her seventh precious metal from the Games under Five Circles the day before at the Beijing Oval on a five-kilometer track.
In front of a crowd of Czech athletes under the podium, Sáblíková was soft in the spotlight. “It was very emotional because I realized that this may be the last time,” the Czech record holder confided.
“Even though I said that to myself last Olympics. But this time it’s really maybe the last time, so I tried to enjoy the atmosphere to the fullest, because these are moments that will stay in a person for the rest of my life,” added the 34-year-old speed skater with a bronze medals on the neck.
She shook her head slightly at her name. Twenty-four hours after the bronze race, she still did not believe that she would leave the Fourth Olympics in a row with a medal.
“It was just as incredible for me, maybe just like the very first medal,” she recalled in the golden double in Vancouver, where she won five and three in 2010.
“It was much more emotionally tense there because the anthem was playing and it was the first time. I appeared there as a twenty-two-year-old chick. Twelve years passed and I stood there again,” she laughed.
The seventh Olympic medal of the Czech star is difficult. “And really pretty. The prettiest!” she rejoiced in the freshest medal gain. He will find a place for bronze at home. “Always. And since I moved, I don’t have much there yet, so there’s plenty of room.”
She was glad that in Beijing she took the medal from a tray brought by the chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee, Jiří Kejval. “That there was someone I know, because if I did some faux pas, they might save me,” Sáblíková said. “I’m always afraid I’ll fall there or take something other than mine. So I’m pretty glad everything worked out,” she breathed.
The evening after the race, she had to doping. He didn’t get to the Olympic Village until about half past one in the morning. “I stopped on a mission where I stayed until about half past two. It was nice, we took a lot of things apart, talked and laughed. It was cool,” she said.
“I was quite happy that it wasn’t very famous, because I had a beer and it was completely finished,” said Sáblíková, who is the most successful Czech Olympian at the Winter Games, according to the number of medals and their value (3-2-2).
She couldn’t sleep for a long time and woke up in the morning before eight. After breakfast, she went to cheer on hockey, looked at the top ten skaters, and then headed for the medal ceremony. “It was such a busy day, but it ran very fast. I’m already looking forward to being in bed,” she said.
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