Pedestrian evening races 35.000m on the Nová Paka track.

Authors: this article by Lucie Nekulové is also the opinion and opinion of the sports association SMOLA CHůZE zs

PROPOSITION NEW LEVER .pdf / AUSSCHREIBUNG NEW LEVER.pdf

This year's league walk seemed more or less strange to most walkers. The beginning of the season was shrunk into a single month, when the main championship competitions and the opening league rounds took place. There is almost nothing to play for in the rest of the season.

Due to the organization of the European Championship of Walking Teams and the expected desire of the Czech representatives to succeed at the clear peak of the season, this compilation of the term calendar made more or less sense. And for non-representative athletes, there was at least the opportunity to finally walk at a competitive pace before the MČR in the 20 km walk.

The Czech representatives approached the start of the season in a peculiar way. Those who expected the national team to come to Dudinci in full force and attack personal records were disappointed. Less demanding goals were mainly met, the race was approached rather cautiously. A huge difference against the world's walking elite.

During the season, unfortunately, we could see the continuation of this trend. While the elite and sub-elite competed at international meetings of various levels, our walkers de facto avoided foreign confrontation.

What the potential 20km limiters could afford was surprising for the 35km limit adepts. Although it is possible to go 35 km more often than was the case with the super long fifty, after all the nomination window ended on the thirtieth of May and then there was no longer a chance to meet the participation limits in international competition. Of course, those who are high enough in the rankings don't have to worry about the deadline, but we have a new one starting this year. Confirming TIME limits. A train shouldn't go over them. As shown by the case of the Czech miler and distance runner in the indoor nomination at the HME, the eye will most likely be turned a blind eye at times. It paid off in the hall. Unfortunately, this system, where we sometimes let someone go and not others, again adds to speculation and a feeling of strange clientelism. Where is the line at which the eye closes and the competitor drives and where is it not? Will the missing 4 seconds be fatal for the marathon runner, or will they appear at the World Championships, even though she is sometimes tongue-in-cheek and not afraid to provoke discussion?

A number of other countries have a similar system of confirming limits, and it is not so surprising that athletes try to perform as well as possible and get enough bonuses at meets.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in Czech walking. You don't go to gold meetings in top form, and if it doesn't work out, maybe there will be an injury, or the head simply can't handle it, the Cecháček approach must come...

And so a new race appeared in our schedule. A race that you can sign up for via the ČAS website, but no one has opened the applications (an error sometimes creeps in). 35m on the track in Nové Paca. A plant built quite obviously with a single purpose. Give the opportunity to meet the TIME limit. Date beginning of July, working day, start at 000:18. Because of all this, a lot of speculation has already arisen regarding the given race, because many remember, or have only heard, about the infamous nomination for the Olympic Games in Atlanta, when the athletic public started rightfully using the horrible phrase "pedestrians will run their limits somewhere". Czech athletics, despite the undeniable abilities of female competitors such as Dibelková, Schindlerová, Pelantová and above all A.Drahotová, have not gotten rid of this phrase to this day... And it is also very unfair to the expected participant of the race from Nová Pák, the limit should be playable for her, but unfortunately, experience cannot be erased from the past... It can be expected to be warm, the start of the race must necessarily be in the early evening. But it will happen if the limit is met, at half past ten. If the limit does not fall, it will at least be a Czech record. 30m on the track has not yet been measured. Possible veterans interested in starting have a unique opportunity to fight for the records of their age categories. However, it is a question of which of the uninformed will manage to prepare for 35 km in less than a month.

If someone thinks that there was actually no other race besides Dudinc and Poděbrady, the opposite is true.

Slovakian Czaková, in a strenuous fight for the WC, when she is returning to walking after giving birth last year and had no points in the ranking, managed Dudince in a time of under 3:02, followed by the Balkan Championships in a time of under 3:05, and because she is still able to participate in The WC was not enough, she fought in Poděbrady for the third time. In view of the WC in Budapest, she won the ticket, or rather the bus ticket, with great willpower and above all by competing with the best in top form.

Unfortunately, our strategy is different. Not that the ČAS confirmation limit was beyond the strength of the Czech representative. If he keeps his head level and walks calmly, such a time must pass easily. But that's the point. Being able to race in tough conditions, with the best. Tereza can do it without rivals. She demonstrated this with an excellent time at the first start on the new track in Banská Bystrica. But she does worse under pressure. In recent years, as part of the VISION of walking and published theories about the strategy of Czech walking, we have repeatedly read on these pages how we must follow the path of quality and confrontation with foreign competitors. Suddenly it doesn't apply. Each of us will definitely like to see Tereza at the start of the WC. But are additional races and participating skis really the right path that Czech walking wants to take?

In stark contrast to helping someone at all costs is access to another training group. If we remember what happened around the (non)nomination of the heretics from Karel Ketner's training group, who did have a limit for the EC in Poděbrady, but everything was done so that the boys would stand at the start of the race a little bit scattered, the snooping around Tereza is glaring, especially in combination with a wild card for the EC after the failed Dudince. Others did not receive the same concession. Of course, Tereza is an Olympian, and the rules are often bent. However, in the case of young athletes, the motivational factor should prevail, and this does not happen in the case of a competitive group whose members allowed themselves to follow a different path. What is going on is foul play, slander and defamation.

While the Czechs are speculating and shuffling, the world's pedestrians are already thinking about how and where to fight for Olympic participation. And so for the bronze meeting in Zittau, which enthusiasts from AC Rumburk started organizing last year in cooperation with German partners, applications are starting to arrive from all over the world and the participation of a whole range of walkers from neighboring countries is promised. Only time will tell whether Czech pedestrians will also show up at the start of the circuit, which is on a par with the one in Poděbrady, or if they will give preference to stagecoaches in the following season.

PS If anyone has the impression that this is a criticism of Teresa, please read again and carefully….