IN THE MAIN ROLE OF THE REFEREE - COMPLETELY UNJUSTIFIED AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE DISQUALIFICATIONS! PLEASE, DEFINITELY NOT!!!     

Author of the article: Lucie Nekulová

RESULTS

After several years of Prague indoor championships, this year the walking championship was held in a new format and at a new location. While in previous years the Czech Indoor Walking Championship was held together with the all-around events, this year there was a change and all-around athletes and walkers joined the Czech Adult Championship. The best athletes of Czech athletics met in Ostrava. The walking competitions were divided into two days, men and women competed on Saturday, and the youth teams, except for students, competed on Sunday.

The students will also compete in Ostrava, but only in a week at the student athletics championship.

This was not the only change. Juniors and youths now only ran 3000m, while the women ran 5000m. The surprise was the judges. Completely cOur best silver level judges Miloslav Lapka and Martin Nedvídek passed away. Where else but at the Czech Championship should our top players be? In at least one case, they were not even invited to this event!

About 50 walkers registered for the race, meeting the participation limits. Championships in France, Italy and Ukraine were held on the same date. Francisco Fortunato set the world record (17:54.48), Lyudmila Olyanovska (19:53.61) ensured the first historical women's break of the 20-minute mark and it could have continued. In Czech conditions, such record-breaking was not expected, as the Czech Marathon Championship was the following weekend and that did not help with fast times.

The women started the race day. Among the six walkers, she was the clear favorite. Ema Klimentová and also immediately took the lead and quickly pulled away from her rivals. Adept of silver Elizabeth Frankl did not even try to keep up with the fast-paced Klimentová and went her own pace. The race was interesting especially on the other stages. After the outdoor medal at the Czech Championship in the 10,000m walk, the former youth representative stood at the start again Jana Zikmundová and fought with By Michaela Řihová (formerly Bakliková) for bronze. Říhová slowly increased her lead over Zikmundová, but she was not going to give up. Klimentová won the race in a commanding manner, setting her absolute personal best on this track, which also became a national record - 22:03.88.. Ema showed herself in great shape a week before the start in Dudince (she is running a half marathon). The same cannot be said about Elizabeth Frankl. Second place was clear, but with a time of 24:11.73 she fell short of expectations. Most likely, she still needs to absorb the training hard work from the training camps in the heat before Alžběta can approach last year's performance. She finally won third place with a 30-second lead Jana Zikmundová. Although she was losing to her Pilsen rival in the first half of the course, she overtook her after 3km and scored an absolute personal best of 25:40.82. Three female competitors faced two red flags, including the victorious Klimentová, but unlike their male colleagues, they managed to avoid DQ.

The men's and women's races were strangely open only to the adult category. All other disciplines during the competition weekend allowed the start of youth and juniors (in the running disciplines alone there were over 50 such starters!), in the walking the technical delegate decided differently. Why this was the case is a question that no one can meaningfully answer. Walkers are the last ones who want to be treated differently than other athletic disciplines. It is probably impossible to find support for this decision in the rules. And how I tried!

The Olympian took the lead immediately after the start and quickly built a lead. Lukáš Gdula. He went very confidently, fiercely, looked excellent and aimed for under 20 minutes. In the absence of Moravka (making up for training deficit after injury and Balaclavas (still at the training camp in South Africa, arriving in Dudince), the group of pursuers was two-membered - Bunny and Head. Adam Zaječek did not even try to chase the confidently walking Gdula, he was concentrating on the marathon. Surprisingly, Hlaváč started to fall behind soon. In the next places were the pair Vejvančický - Cogan. Gdula's lead grew, the energetic athlete probably stopped concentrating on technical accuracy and it happened quickly. The judges took over. First they took out Gdula, who could only encourage his colleagues. Vejvančický and Cogan were suddenly fighting for bronze. And just before the end of the race came another shock. At that moment, the silver medalist was also ordered out of the race.  Vitek Hlavac. Adam Zaječek He calmly finished for his first adult title - 20:48.82. 400m before the finish he joined Vejvančický, who dragged the entire race, Rudolf Cogan, the oldest competitor at the start (54 years old)! The former national representative ran incredibly, technically absolutely great, set the national record M50 - 22:10.29 and finished for the republic silver. Fantastic performance at his age. He (didn't) win bronze Vojtěch Vejvančicky, which followed up on the huge improvement from the fall and this first-year junior improved his absolute OR to a great 22:15.54. But then the decision of the technical delegate came into play. This was confusing even for the organizers, who first invited Vejvančický to the announcement of the winners, because in the other disciplines he would have a medal. In the walk, it was absurdly not, so Vojtěch was forced to hand over the invitation to the ceremony to the fourth finisher, Hranice To Rosť Kolář. Incomprehensible…

During the race, 4 out of 11 starters were disqualified, which is a highly above-standard 36%.

The referees applied a very strict standard.

On Sunday, the juniors were the first to start in a joint race with the juniors. They were the clear favorites at the start. Noemi Maják from Kadaň and Emma Mulačová from BerounSurprisingly, however, the junior set the pace in her first fight in the championship competition. Součková. This year she improved to 16:29, but she was supposed to be behind the juniors. On paper, of course. In reality, she ran beautifully and fearlessly set the pace together with Hromádkova and both teenagers. And it was a joy to watch the girls. On TV, that is. The judges saw something else on the spot. And so the viewer just watched with their mouths open as Mayans She received one yellow after another. She retired from the race 400m before the finish line and even though she settled for a DQ on the spot, after watching the video footage, the aftertaste remains.

The beautifully riding girl was delighted with the victory among the juniors in a new personal record. Emma Mulačová (15:32.60), but it's a shame that there wasn't a duel of favorites in the end. Another novice and a hugely improving one won silver and a new OR. Sofie Proňová from Cologne (16:24.03), won bronze Veronika Zvonkova from Frýdek also in OR (16:38.52).

However, the first finish line of the joint race was passed by the team from České Budějovice after a huge improvement of a full minute and a great performance. junior Klára Součková (15:22.02). Bravo! Another junior from Nové Město also got under 16 minutes for the first time, Katerina Hromádkova - 15:41.88Another bronze is being taken to Frýdek in the new OR Eliška Kokořová (16:08.13). One junior was disqualified.

Then the juniors started together with the teenagers. Let's go to the younger ones first. The race was led by the favorites from Duchcov Weis and Slaměník together with Svoboda from Poruba. He soon gained a following A straw man and was moving away from his rivals. Czech student record holder Weis from Radotín (3000m near Hodinovce in 13:32) left the track just after the halfway point from second place. Svoboda from Poruby moved to second place, but he was also removed from the track 200m before the finish line for violating technical rules. Arnošt Slameník He withstood the strict gazes of the judges and the set pace and finished for the title in a time of 14:03.51. He took silver in the new OR Josef Kuchar of Frydek (15:37.87), 5 seconds back he won his first republic medal Miroslav Myska, also from Frýdek. 3 competitors were DQ.

A strong foursome moved to the junior category Mochal - Vejvančický - Rösler - Tin canAnd they were also the only ones standing at the start. Dan Mochal led from the beginning, Vejvančicky after a wonderful Saturday with a bitter ending, it traditionally started more cautiously, with a greater reach, the pair fought for bronze Rösler - Tin can. Plecháček's start was a surprise, because he is now more focused on running and is slowly saying goodbye to walking. Vejvančický gradually began to pull Mochal away and both athletes showed excellent performances. Liberecký Dan Mochal won in excellent OR and his first time sub 13 - 12:46.88 and continues his performance progress. I Vojtěch Vejvančicky recorded a great time and after the OR at 5000m he crossed off the shorter distance - 12:53.99. The performance of both athletes can only be evaluated in superlatives, considering the Vejvančický duet, we probably have something to look forward to at the Poděbrady junior ten. The second pair went together for a long time, but 800 before the finish line he stepped in Mark Rõsler, quickly moved away from Plecháček and won a clear bronze - 13:28.19. A tin can He definitely surprised, with a new personal best in the triple 13:49.38 he should consider going back to running.

The Czech Championship was full of great performances. The youth presented themselves really well.

DHowever, the most memorable thing for the ivák team is the above-standard number of disqualifications. It didn't look so terrible on TV, but we didn't see everything. The race raised a number of question marks. The absence of both of our top judges is surprising. The issue of the penalty zone arises again. Many judges have not grown up with this rule and are not popular with them. However, it has been part of world walking for over 10 years. The huge number of DQs at this year's championship, very often among young people, for whom the PZ was primarily introduced, encourages its implementation. Many of the ejected would have managed to shine even with a 30-second penalty. In addition to Dudince, there is also the student championship in a week. We will see how the decision will be made there, however, after the past weekend I would put 4 cones on the track immediately... We see this often in the world in the hall. The participation of one of the judges raised many eyebrows and provoked loud criticism. If you have 8 athletes in the competition, the question is whether you should judge. It's nothing personal, we have praised the gentleman here many times, it's just a valid comment and a topic for discussion. Unfortunately, the judges are also subject to a reprimand for their behavior. The rules do not only apply to athletes. The walking judge is supposed to judge from an upright position. Let's leave squats and forward bends to the gym, they don't belong at the Czech Championships. It wasn't visible on the stream, but reports from the scene say that the lying technique was also visible... This is unacceptable according to the walking rules. The judges must realize that in the digital age, everything is visible and they also represent the discipline. Make strict decisions, apply a hard standard, but it has to be stylish.

Nevertheless, let us remember the championship primarily as a show of beautiful performances. Hopefully, not only our representatives will follow suit in a few days in Dudince. On behalf of SMOLA CHŮZE, we wish Dudince and the students good technique and great performances. May you enjoy racing.

Article author: Josef Smola

On Sunday, March 22, 2026, the Austrian Open Road Walking Championships for 10km and 5km will take place in Salzburg.

The start and finish are at the ULSZ SALZBURG RIF stadium, the circuit is completely new, flat, 1 km long (commuting).

Competitors from the Czech Republic are welcome in all categories! 

If anyone is interested and would like to help with the organization, you can contact us. Applications: no later than Monday, March 16, 2026 

PROPOSAL / AUSSCHREIBUNG_nämecky_deutsch.pdf

PROPOSITION / AUSSCHREIBUNG_anglicky_english.pdf 

Link to the race:

https://www.k-lv.com/veranstaltung/offene-oesterr-meisterschaften-im-10-km-5km-strassengehen/

AC Mladá Boleslav walkers / BAD WALK Adéla Hůlková (18:03,79) and Marek Rösler (13:27,57) in personal bests! In the first duel between M50 Cogan / Nedvídek, Cogan was more successful - how will it turn out at the European Championships in Toruń in a month?!

Author of the article: Lucie Nekulová

Photo: Archive THE TROUBLE OF WALKING

RESULTS

After the regional championships (see previous article), walkers gathered for traditional races in Jablonec. The indoor races were held on the 4th and 7th Wednesdays. The Wednesday evening races are specific, walkers do not set off on the track until before 20 p.m., yet both races attracted a number of competitors and offered a literal whirlwind of great performances and personal records.

At the first Jablonec race on January 28, 2026, the winner of the men's 3000m race impressed Martin Nedvidek.

The time of 13:25.35 is excellent in a solo race, and Martin is still just returning to training after the injury he sustained at the Prague Hour Race and has to be more careful at a fast pace. The second at the finish, from Mladá Boleslav Ludka Šolce beat by almost 4 minutes (17:16.28). The home team went for 3rd and 4th place after Hanyk was disqualified Matyas Drazan (17:32.94) to David Racek (18:05.01) in new personal records. George Janousek, the M75 category competitor got under 20 minutes by 6 seconds, 2 seconds shy of this limit for a year older competitor Udo SchaefferGentlemen, hats off and deep admiration for how much you love sports walking.

The Kadaň teenager dominated the women's race Noemi Majak in a new personal best of 15:12.98 and became a clear contender for the indoor junior title. She also had no rival in the race, second at the finish line, significantly improving indoors Kateřina Hromádková from Nové Město, lost 80 seconds (16:31.92). She is also a candidate for a republican medal, this time a junior one.

Another teenager from Kolín also got under 17 minutes by 2 seconds in the new OR. Sofia Pronova and with her consistency and quality times this winter she loudly claimed the national bronze. Her personal best of 18:35.11 moved the Mladá Boleslav student to the bronze position among Czech female students in the tables. Adele Hůlková.

The first indoor walking Wednesday showed, especially among the girls, who will most likely win national medals and that the girls across categories are excellently prepared for the indoor event.

On February 18.2th, the second walking evening took place. The race attracted 25 male and female competitors of all age groups. Among the women, the winner was Katerina Hromadkova, who improved her January time to 16:23.91

and is in second place in the national standings! This season's indoor performance was moved by the second Lenka Borovičková at 17:33.81 and Adelka Hůlkova came within 3 seconds of the 18-minute mark in another personal best. The girls' championship race will be truly open and any of the three can take the gold in 3 weeks Elblová - Halasová - Hůlková.

The men's race was truly a dream. Unsurprisingly, he shot to the front from the first meters. Dan Mochal from Liberec. However, the big surprise was that the talented junior had the Jičín veteran breathing down his neck from the very beginning. Rudolf Cogan. Mochal ran the race and literally beat his old OR. The new one is 13:06.46 and Dan continues to perform great even among juniors. Ruda Cogan, however, did not let himself be distracted and showed a top performance. He finished second by only 4 tenths! The only question is whether he crossed the finish line in the national record of the masters category M50 or M55?!! The exact date of birth is decisive here and veteran statisticians will have to check that. In third place, the Rumburk native came alone Vojta Vejvančický, also in a great personal best of 13:15.55. Will he and Mochal reach times under 13 minutes in the championship race? And fourth Martin Nedvidek can be satisfied. The time of 13:21.53 is worthy of superlatives in the M50 category. If Cogan's performance is in the M55 category, then Nedvídek's time will be the M50 record... And the list of great times does not end there. Even fifth at the finish, the junior from Mladá Boleslav Mark Rösler, showed an indoor personal record of 13:27.57! The junior category will be exceptionally busy this year. The lower number of starters in this category will be replaced by high quality. Unfortunately, the juniors' performances cannot be compared to the times of the trio Kukla - Morávek - Zajíček, because in their years, juniors were five in the hall. The comparison with them will only be shown in the road races, but it is evident that another great generation is growing up here. At the junior team race in Poděbrady, we can also look forward to team medals...

A very young man broke his personal record Denis Drdla from SK Jeseniova, who will be attacking the national indoor title. The veteran from Mladá Boleslav got well under 17 minutes Ludek Solc (16:39.92), which is in the M65 category! The indomitable were also present at the start Janousek, Schaeffer, Kovanda.

As can be seen from the previous lines, indoor Wednesdays were full of excellent performances. And in the youth categories, many future medalists have emerged. The Czech Indoor Championships from youth to juniors are here next weekend and will be something to watch. The students will start a week later, on the same day, adult walkers will fight for marathon titles in Dudince. The beginning of March will be properly pumped up from a walking perspective. And we will see how the youth cope with the statistical chances.

Author: Udo Schaeffer

Article author: František Párys

Interested judges of class II or higher can start registering for training for the specialization: refereeing gait, which will take place in Prague on March 14, 2026.

The instructor will be M. Lapka. You can register at: IS TIME.

Ludmila Pudilova, ČAS referees' committee

With the indoor athletics season slowly starting, the walking part of the athletics family has also made its first indoor starts.

Author of the article: Lucie Nekulová

RESULTS New Year's Hall 27.12.2025

RESULTS Liberec Region Championship all categories 17.01.2026

RESULTS Moravian and Silesian Championship 18.01.2026

Indoor competitions opened at the end of 2025 New Year's Eve Hall, which has been organized regularly for decades František Párys with AC Slovan LiberecThe lower participation of 27 walkers was most likely due to viral diseases that were rampant across the Czech Republic at the time (we highly recommend winter swimming and hardening to everyone, regularly going to a nearby river or pond definitely helps).

There was only one starter in the 2000m race, a young woman who arrived from Zittau, Germany. Margaret Heinzel and as a novice walker she showed a nice performance of 13:16.43. AC Rumburk, the organizer of the Zittau walker race, can be pleased that even in Zittau athletes are starting to dabble in walking.

The 3000m race was a joint start for male, female and female students. The representative clearly dominated. Ema Klimentová, who, after a successful performance in Dublin in December, set a new personal best of 13:03.65. In second place, almost a minute behind, she finished in just under 14 minutes. Elizabeth Frankl and the time of 13:59.51 also marks a new personal best for her.

The new Czech student record holder from Hodinovka from Duchcov crossed the finish line in third place. Jacob Weiss, who this time showed a solid 14:33.52. From 2026, this skilled competitor will move to the youth category.

The third woman to finish was with a time of 15:28.60. Johan Petříková, then 10 seconds back she improved her personal record Emma Mulačová from Beroun, who last year burst onto the Czech youth scene and immediately claimed the national medal and the youth national team jersey. It seems that she will continue her high-quality performances. Other youth athletes also performed very well, Hromádková and Štefáčková, both with performances just over 16 minutes. There will be something to watch in the youth and junior categories this year.

He dominated the 5000m race with another great performance Dan Mochal from Liberec. The time of 22:18.94 is his fourth best performance, a personal indoor record and, especially after the autumn break, a continuation of the excellent performances from the track season. He also presented a personal record Roman Hanyk in second place - 23:44.82. Then you can only give up before the master of Beroun walking By Jiří Kovanda (1946), who finished the 5000m in seventh place in 40:20.46.

The 2026 racing year officially kicked off last weekend.

On Saturday, January 17.1th, Liberec Region Championship, which is traditionally open to other competitors. She performed excellently in the 2000m walk Petra Pípalová from Veselí nad Lužnicí, who improved her performance from the Radotín Clock by hundredths and showed 12:56.35. Alenka Kalubová from Rumburk then she ran 14:01.27.

In the 3000m walk, the girls were particularly impressive. In her first indoor walk start, the junior presented herself excellently. Klara Součková from Ceske Budejovice, who tried walking for the first time in the fall, improved her performance from 20:10 to a quality 16:29.37 and ranked among the candidates for republic medals with a chance for the Czech title. Also only 13 years old Adéla Hůlková from Mlada Boleslav (coach Jaroslav Prückner) ran a very solid 18:40.50 and is also a candidate for one of the republican medals in her category. A number of novice walkers and new walker groups took part in the race, which is excellent news.

He dominated the 5000m Dan Mochal from Liberec another excellent time of 22:21.81. In his first indoor start, he significantly improved his indoor personal time Vojtěch Vejvančický of Rumburk - 22:50.83, which followed a significant improvement in the second half of 2025 and confirmed the position of the Czech junior number two. Stanislav Borisov then he took bronze with a performance of 23:11.75. In fourth place, 18 seconds back, he was able to tick off a quality time Martin Nedvidek, returning after a muscle injury he sustained during the Hodinovce in Radotín. Mark Rösler from Boleslavy, barely breaking the 25-minute mark and the finish line was seen again by George Kovanda, this time with a performance of sub 40 min - 39:19.32. Admirable.

Then on Sunday there was MMaS in the Ostrava hall, even the Moravian champion regularly allows competitors from other territorial units to start.

The 3000m race was clearly dominated by women. Over time 15:06.25 Polish teenager Hanna Chodur shone, which the Pilsen woman was 6 seconds behind in her new personal record Michaela Rihova (formerly Baklíková). She also got under 16 minutes Nelly Bugarova in third place. Among juniors, Frýdecká won Eliška Kokořová (16:40.40), her teammate also finished just under 17 minutes Hanka Petrushkova. However, she had to bow down to the excellent veteran By Ivana Vranková, this W50 competitor performed 16:55.91.

It is gratifying that even in Moravia we can see new names and new teams across women's categories. A former national team player is doing a commendable coaching job in Brno Tereza Ďurďiaková and introduces walking to new faces.

There were fewer competitors among the men. He won. Alexander Malysa - 23:25.04 in the new indoor OR, when he came 4 seconds closer to the outdoor maximum from 2017! Frýdecký Vojta Novak took silver in 23:43.57, beating Hraník by just 2 seconds Rostů KolářHe finished in fourth place. Jaromir Hloch, whose performance of 24:18.13 indicates that Jarda has finally recovered from his injury from Olomouc 2025 and is evidently starting to train and compete again in full force. We wish you good health.

As you can see, the indoor season is in full swing and right at the beginning we are witnessing a number of excellent performances, personal bests and, above all, numerous starts across categories.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to name every starter... There will obviously be something to watch at the indoor championships! And we wish all newcomers that their enthusiasm for walking lasts. It is a demanding but beautiful discipline.

The 13th annual Prague Walking Hour will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2026, again at the OLYMPIA RADOTÍN Sports Center in Prague.

DATE: 17th OCTOBER 2026  

VENUE: SC ATLETIKA PRAGUE RADOTIN, ADDRESS: Ke Zděři 1741/21 Prague 5 - Radotín, www.atletikaradotin.cz , TARTAN TRACK 400 m

REGISTRATION / APPLICATIONS: https://www.sportt.cz/register/1501

PRIZE MONEY: later

Proposal for an indoor meeting with a 3.000m walk in Sant Gallen, January 18, 2026

Below you can download the regulations for the indoor athletics meeting on Sunday, January 18th with a 3.000m walk for all categories including MASTERS.

The 3.000m race walk is OPEN for all categories including MASTERS.

Applications by email to:This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need to have Javascript enabled. , no later than Thursday, January 8, 2026

Time limit: 25:00min

The schedule is preliminary, the final one will be published on Tuesday, January 13, 26 here:https://www.lc-bruehl.ch/events/stadtwerk-hallenmeeting

Entry fee: 16,- CHF on site

PROVISIONS / DESCRIPTION

TIME PROGRAM / SCHEDULE

The traditional New Year's Eve walkers' hall will take place in the athletics hall in Jablonec nad Nisou on Saturday, December 27, 2025. 

The organizer AC Slovan Liberec is looking forward to your participation.

The program includes a 5.000m walk for men, a 3.000m walk for women and boys and a 2.000m walk for younger boys.

The main men's 5.000m walk race will start at 13:15 p.m., with the other walking races starting at 13:50 p.m. and 14:10 p.m.  

Come say goodbye to the year 2025 in Jablonec nad Nisou!

PROVISIONS / DESCRIPTION