Sport

O2 Arena Looks completely unusual from the typical image of the hockey matches. There is no shining ice, not a tennis court, not even a motocross track. This time, the arena changed into an Athletic ring (the chance took 50 hours) The ice is still beneath the athletic surface Conipur. Olympic Winner Meseret Defar baptized the oval, prepared for the Meeting of World Champions.

Meseret Defar said – About the ring, that it is “… is nicely soft, I like it.”, about the hall: “I was surprised, how huge it is, I have never run is such a big one, not in Birmingham, Stuttgart or Boston.” About Prague: “I am here for the first time, I went to the Old Town yesterday, it is beautiful.” About the meeting, on which she is going to compete: “I am happy that ill be here on its first run. And that I have tried the track in advance.”

70 km/hour, 365 m long ice track, 36m degree of incline, 12 jumps, 30 seconds of ride and shouting of 7000 visitors, that’s what tried the athletes, who applied for the Red Bull Crashed on ice competition at Prague Vysehrad.

The winner of the finals became Finnish Miikka Jouhkimainen, but the spectators yell also two Czechs to victory; Lukas Kolec and Lukas Fiala, who fell and hit the finishing tape together. Beside sportsmen, famous personalities and even viewers tried the crazy race as well.

Martin Straka commented for the news, whilst standing under the Vysehrad hill and breathing heavily: “That was the most crazy idea in my life. Now, I am going to stop that” smiling, though, only a few seconds after he ‘survived’ the coast.

Martina Sablikova (b. 1987), the Czech speedskater, specializing in long distance races won her first women’s title at the World Allround Speedskating Championships on Sunday. The Norway king Harald V. and with him about 9300 spectators applauded her in the ‘Viking Ship’ the sold-out hall in Hamar. She is the most versatile speedskater of the planet!

She led after two first races on Saturday, including the feared 500m sprint, and won the women’s gold medal after winning the concluding 5,000 meters in 6:55.54. Than she fell down and just lied. “She touched her limits. The hall was full and very hot, the ice was getting worse. It was an extreme race for everyone.” Her coach said after. The Netherlands edition of De Telegraph wrote: “ Sablikova is in the golden course ”

People, who nowadays head to Vysehrad, can be surprised by an unusual view – In V Pevnosti and Vratislavova streets a massive construction from wood and iron grown up. Workers lay special plastic carpet, thanks to which the street is going to turn into an ice bed. On the surface is going to take place the Red Bull Crashed Ice race on Saturday 7th February. This year, 120 racers from the whole world are going to participate, from which 60 are from the Czech Republic.

And what the Red Bull Crashed Ice is? A combination of downhill skiing, hockey and boardercross. the competition take place in urban ice tracks in various cities, wind and diving its way. The competitors have to navigate the course’s massive vertical drops, razor-sharp turns, jumps and steps, all while doing speeds of up to 50 km/hr. If that’s not enough of a rush, they’ll also have a crazy live audience cheering them on. If you want to be among them, look for at a ticket at Ticketpro.

The 31st edition of the Dakar, the first one in Latin-America, had a Czech winning his league; Josef Machacek became the winner of Quad category in the Rally Dakar race. The Czech rider for Yamaha didn’t find a challenger in his category for the fifth time. Machacek triumphed with the luxurious advance of two and a half hour.

The winners in other categories are Marc Coma in the bike category, Giniel De Villiers in the car category and Firdaus Kabirov in the truck category. In total, 113 bikers, 13 quad riders, 91 car teams and 54 truck teams finished the race.

At the age of fifty Machacek was one of the oldest participants of the south American adventure, but he showed his back to his younger rivals. From the 25 quads at the start his Yamaha was the first behind the target line.

When you come to a sport department in a mall, there are empty shelves in the winter part. They were packed with dozens of ice skates before the Christmas. And because frosts didn’t drop, men, women and children ice-skates disappear from the stores, second-hands and rental services on. “Two chilly days and we sold forty pairs of used ice-skates. We are just astonished and order new goods fast.” states Pavel Fiala, who has two premises selling winter equipment in Prague. “What is sold most fast are the adjustable children and lady ice-skates.”

If you like ice-skating, you don’t have to go outside Prague. At the moment it is still very cold, there is enough ice even at Vltava river cutoffs, but basins and ponds can be even better. The pond at Motol is ready, all you need is to rent some ice-skates there and start off. At park Hvezda, one can even try snow-kitting, which means skiing or snowboarding with a special kite. Weather forecasts promise the weather will stay frosty, at least until the end of January.

If we look at those fifty years of history of the Czech Sportsman of the year, tens of years are connected by throwing the javelin. The spear has flown through the skies of fame again.

The Golden Olympic throw of Barbora Spotakova came on the day of Soviet occupation anniversary, hitting hearts of million fans – she beaten a Russian athlete, which combined with a thriller (she wasn’t first until the last try) brought her admiration of the nation.

“Each of us watches the television, to see stories. And I am glad one such story happened to me. That I felt that good that evening, that I could beat the Russian by the last throw. That is fantastic.” she said. The second was the double Olympic winner Katerina Emmons, the love story of great expectations. The king of the last winter, mountain ski runner Lukas Bauer, the story of will and patience was third.

Today, the 09 season of Prague Tour de Ski, ski running competition, starts. Just a few days ago, it seemed the whole competition is threatened by warm weather and lack of snow. But at the night from 25th to 26th December it started to freeze and since the time, the snow cannons are running continuously.

Hundreds of people came to watch the race yesterday. It continues today, and it is expected that the sun is going to pull even more people out of their beds. They didn’t occupied only the tribunes, but also stood by the 650 m long track, going around the whole Prague Exhibition Ground.

The programme wasn’t fun for adults only, there were also performances for kids included. And where is going to go all that mass of snow. Quite probably it is going to end up in neighbour Stromovka, where those in Prague can enjoy it.

Today in Prague, Prague Ski competition starts at Prague Exhibition ground. Just a few days before, the race was seriously jeopardized by warm weather and lack of snow. However during the night from 25th to 26th December snow cannons are running continuously, plus there is also the PolarSnow technology used, which means making the snow using water, compressed air and liquid nitrogen. The biggest advantage is the snow doesn’t have any chemicals inside and so its properties are similar to those of regular snow.

Since 11 am, Prague Exhibition Ground opens an accompanying programme, with concerts of Czech groups like Walda Gang, Gypsy.cz and Support Lesbians. The start of qualification races is at 1 pm. The program continues tomorrow since 10 am by the main race, at 12 the race for the public concurs.

Travelling in Prague is going to take longer, the day of choice is Sunday. The organizers of Public Transport adjusted the time-tables and so the intervals in Metro are going to be longer of 10 minutes, tramways are going to come once in twenty minutes.

Changes in Public transport in Prague start fourth January, the limitation should be only in period from 8 to 12 hours. The reason is simple – endeavour to economize. Sunday mornings have already proven to be the time, when the least passengers use the public transport.

Intervals at all Metro traces are going to be prolonged to 10 minutes. At the present time the intervals vary among 8,5-3 minutes, depending on the line, now it is going to be 10 minutes everywhere. Sunday tramways so far went every 15 minutes, now it is going to be 20.

Barbara Spotakova had a season of dreams. In the incredible Olympic finals she gained gold by her last Javelin throw, than on the World Athletic Finals she made 72,28, so setting the new world record.

The record-breaking throw brought her another accreditation at the end of the season – by the Association of Athletics Federations she was awarded as the Athlete of the Year. She got the prestigious title together with the long race runner Tirunes Dibaba,who improved the present maximum on the 5-kilometre race by more than five seconds.

“It is absolutely amazing, I am very exited about it. I feel such an award is the greatest appreciation I ever gained. Basically, it is unbelievable.” Spotakova commented.

In the journalist inquiry Zlatý Míč – Golden Ball of the CR Petr Cech steadily draws up to Pavel Nedved. Nedved won five times, but not in a raw. For Cech it was ‘a season on a swing’ as he says – he lost the Master’s league and there was also the non—successful European championship. Even in these days the goalkeeper alternates positives with negatives. This weekend, he gained 100th zero in the Blues dress.

Golden Ball rank :
1st Petr Cech (Chelsea) 1664 points, 2nd Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal) 945, 3rd Marek Jankulovski (AC Milán) 777, 4th Pavel Nedved (Juventus) 578, 5th Libor Sionko (Copenhagen)

Newcomer of this year :
1st Frantisek Drizdal (Slavia) 88, 2nd Jan Moravek (Bohemians 1905) 64, 3rd Lukas Marecek (Brno) 15

The coach of the year :
1st Karel Jeronym (Slavia) 122, 2nd Karel Vecera (Ostrava) 61, 3rd Karel Bruckner (CR + Austria Represents) 32

The new law has been needed for quite some time, the most visible it was when a group of ‘football fans’ went on a spree at Stadium Strahov, worth 19t Euro.

If the proposal passes the parliament, the hooligans in the whole Czech republic will have to watch their steps much more. They can get a ban to cultural, sport and other social events, in total length up to ten years.

The idea is the well-known brawlers should not be able to do more disturbances on given events. The outcome should be a gradual realization of steps, which should eliminate stadium violence as much as possible. To disobey the ban would mean a crime act and can get up to three years.

This is logical another step, after the stadium courts were established.

The unorthodox spectacle opens again! The visitors of the Prague 1 centre will be able to see clerks in suits, with a mobile phone and a folder in their hand, the fifth volume of the Kancelarskych krys run takes place!

The race is not only a sporting event, but a social event too. Representatives of different companies and institutions compete in file and folder-throwing, slalom on office chairs, and rope-climbing in a spirit of fun, giving a chance for stressed out office workers to relax.

The participants run in their traditional work clothes – men in business suits (jackets and ties) and women in dresses and skirts. With the only exeptin – sport shoes. Even the mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, is going to compete there.

Ceremonies oversee the races and competitions from a stage situated at Fruit Market (Ovocny trh). From where the moderator calls the runners on their mobile phones and let it go from the speakers, forming favourite part of the event.

Tomorrow in Prague and Stockholm starts the new NHL season. The Czech fan will have to get used to two missing Czech legends – Jaromir Jagr moved to Russia and Dominik Hasek retired and returned home. The question is, which of their fellow countryman will attract the most attention? Elias, Hemsky, Sykora, Plekanec, or somebody else? Let’s get surprised.

The battle of Stanley Cup starts once again. The battle, where you can watch Sidney Crosby to again play up to the words about new Gretzky. You can watch Alexander Oveckin shoot one goal after another. Who may become the new Jagr? Maybe Patrik Elias? Or possibly, if in good health, Martin Havlat? It can also be be Ales Hemsky, about whom Joe Sakic said he has more tricks than Jager up his sleeve?

The drama is at O2 Arena in Prague.

Freestyle football is a sport combining football, breakdance and acrobacy. There weren’t any official tournaments in the Czech Republic, but that all changed last weekend in Prague Industrial palace. Contestants from the Czech and Slovak Republic have fought for an advance to World championship.

The finals are clear – two semi-finalist stand opposite each other in the circle, and the freestyle battle can start. The players have 20 seconds in turns to show what they can do.

The Czech contestants were mostly below 20 years of age, and the one who ruled the show this time was Jan Klepl. He is going to represent the Czech Republic in Brazilian Sao Paulo, among the top freestyle footballers from 47 countries of the World.

Barbora Spotakova is the world champion of javelin. The new world record is 72,28 metres. She managed to achieve that at the World Finals in Stuttgart, by the first throw. The record of Cuban Osleidys Mendez was beaten by half a metre.

“It is a wonderful feeling. I can’t compare it with the Olympic win though. That was even better.” Spotakova rejoiced. The Czech Republic so holds, thanks to her and Jan Zelezny, the world record in both categories of javelin.

Spotakova gained a sweet bonus of 100t dollar, another 30t for her victory. “we want to build a house with my boyfriend, with this bonus it will be much easier” she stated.

The first of Czech handicapped sportsmen to gain gold in Peking Paralympics became the athletic latebloomer Eva Kacanu. She won the competition at the age of 43. What’s more, she also set the new world record by throwing 6,73 m.

Her first toss was 6,59 m, by which she got to the top of the chart. But that wasn’t enough for her; by the sixth try she made it over the world record.

Her last miracle throw brought back the memory of the golden medal success of Barbora Spotakova in javelin, at the same stadium during the Olympic Games.

Eva Kacanu has a title of the world champion from 2006, at the last Paralympics in Athens she gained the silver.

Karel Bruckner has been at lead of the Austria team for only two months, but he achieved one sensation already. By the Saturday win 3:1 the Czech coach Bruckner gained over the Austrian fans. For whom it is an incredible success. France and Austria, compared in the FIFA chart, have incredible 90 positions among them.

Bruckner came with his typical personal style and immediately celebrated success. He pulled back defence a bit, and found an attacker of Jan Koller’s style. And the tall shooter Marek Janko immediately started to shoot goals. The Austria team has a chance to fight at a larger tournament after years.

Barbora Spotakova won the javelin gold by the fantastic last try with 71.42 metres , by which she beaten her Russian opponent Maria Abakumova with 70.78m, while Germany’s Christina Obergfoll took the bronze with a best of 66.13m.

The toss was even more great, that by it she has beaten the Russian athlete on 21th August: “It’s extra sweet this win because it is the 40th anniversary to the day of the Russian invasion in 1968.” Spotkova commented.

In one moment she was second, and not very few people believed that is going to change. Than the Czech javeliner went for her last try; “I was like in a trance. I don’t recall anything.” she says. The javelin she threw flew almost to the line showing the world record. The bird nest exploded. She improved the European record. “That was a miracle, like if I didn’t threw it at all” she told with tears in her eyes. That is the third gold medal Czechs gained at the Olympics.