Zátopek: When you can’t keep going, go faster!

Emil Zátopek is arguably the greatest Olympic champion of all time. The Czech runner’s three gold medals at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics, for the 5,000 meter, 10,000 meter, and marathon is an achievement that has never been matched. His success as a runner made him a national hero, but as a public figure, outspoken and unafraid to take a stand, he was equally impressive. Even before the Helsinki Games, Zátopek had scored a remarkable victory, successfully pressuring the Communist regime to allow his colleague Stanislav Jungwirth, who until then had been excluded on political grounds, to compete. In Zátopek, Jan Novák and Jaromír 99 trace the extraordinary life and times of the great Olympian, from his first meeting with Dana, the love of his life, to the victories that would ensure his lasting legacy. About the Author Jan Novák is a Czech writer and documentary maker. He was awarded two Carl Sandburg prizes for the Best Book of the Year by the Chicago Public Library and the Magnesia Litera for the Czech Book of the Year. He co-authored The Turnaround (1994), Miloš Forman’s autobiography, and in 2020 published a controversial biography about Milan Kundera. Jaromír 99 is a Czech singer, songwriter, and artist who is best known for his work with Jaroslav Rudis on the comics trilogy Alois Nebel. He is also the author (with David Zane Mairowitz) of The Castle, an adaptation of Kafka’s novel (SelfMadeHero, 2013). / Jaromír 99; Jan Novák