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The Emil Zátopek Run
September 22, 2024 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) athletic club and the Czech Centre (CC) have the pleasure to announce the third London charity run organised in the name of the brilliant Czech runner Emil Zátopek.
Runners and families alike are invited to join in for a fun day out. All raised funds will be donated towards The Zátopek‘s Athletic Fellowship supporting young athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds in West London.
More information and registration here.
The Emil Zátopek Run was first organised by CC and TVH in 2022 to celebrate Zátopek’s centennial anniversary and raise funds for a newly established Zátopek Athletic Fellowship awarded to promising young athletes from disadvantaged local community.
The aim of the Zátopek Athletic Fellowship is to support and ignite the sporting and personal attributes that Zátopek represented in young, talented athletes that strive to follow in his footsteps and to contribute to advancing their athletic careers. Proceeds from starting fees as well as all voluntary contributions towards the Zátopek Run will be donated to support the Fellowship.
After the RUN there will be a medal ceremony to award the winners, followed by an informal gathering at the Linford Christie Athletic Stadium. Refreshments available.
About Emil Zátopek
The legendary Czech runner Emil Zátopek (1922-2000), nicknamed Czech locomotive, won his first Olympic medal in London in 1948. Best known for his distinctive running style and his many athletic achievements and records – up to this date Zátopek remains the only runner to win the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon at the same Olympic Games, which he obtained in Helsinki in 1952. Besides his athletic accomplishments, Zátopek received international acclaim for his vocal public condemnation of the 1968 Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia which led to his denouncement by the Czechoslovak communist government and a controlled detention.
There are many books and films about Zátopek’s life and sport achievements, including British author Richard Askwith’s biography Today We Die a Little: The Rise and Fall of Emil Zatopek, Olympic Legend.
In 2013 Runner’s World Magazine named Zátopek the ‚Greatest Runner of All Time‘.