Today We Die a Little!: the Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to enjoy something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” —Emil ZátopekFor a decade after the Second World War, Emil Zátopek—“the Czech locomotive”—redefined the sport of distance running, pushing back the frontiers of what was considered possible. He won five Olympic medals, set eighteen world records, and went undefeated in the 10,000-metre race for six years. His dominance has never been equaled.In the darkest days of the Cold War, he stood for a spirit of generous friendship that transcended nationality and politics. Zátopek was an energetic supporter of the Prague Spring in 1968, championing “socialism with a human face” in Czechoslovakia. But for this he paid a high price. After the uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks, the hardline Communists had their revenge. Zátopek was expelled from the army, stripped of his role in national sport, and condemned to years of hard and degrading manual labor.Based on extensive research in the Czech Republic, interviews with people across the world who knew him, and unprecedented cooperation from his widow, fellow Olympian Dana Zátopková, journalist Richard Askwith’s book breathes new life into the man and the myth, uncovering a glorious age of athletics and an epoch-defining time in world history. "We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to enjoy something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." -- Emil Zápek For a decade after the Second World War, Emil Zápek -- "the Czech locomotive" -- redefined the sport of distance running, pushing back the frontiers of what was considered possible. He won five Olympic medals, set eighteen world records, and went undefeated in the 10,000-metre race for six years. His dominance has never been equaled. In the darkest days of the Cold War, he stood for a spirit of generous friendship that transcended nationality and politics. Zápek was an energetic supporter of the Prague Spring in 1968, championing "socialism with a human face" in Czechoslovakia. But for this he paid a high price. After the uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks, the hardline Communists had their revenge. Zápek was expelled from the army, stripped of his role in national sport, and condemned to years of hard and degrading manual labor. Based on extensive research in the Czech Republic, interviews with people across the world who knew him, and unprecedented cooperation from his widow, fellow Olympian Dana Zápkovájournalist Richard Askwith's book breathes new life into the man and the myth, uncovering a glorious age of athletics and an epoch-defining time in world history. For a decade after the Second World War, Emil ZAtopek-"the Czech Locomotive"--Redefined his sport, pushing back the frontiers of what was considered possible in terms of training, record-setting, and medal winning. He won five Olympic medals, set 18 world records, and went undefeated over 10,000 metres for six years. His dominance has never been equaled. And in the darkest days of the Cold War, he stood for a spirit of generous friendship that transcended nationality and politics. ZAtopek was an energetic supporter of the Prague Spring in 1968, championing "socialism with a human face" in Czechoslovakia. But for this he paid a high price. After the uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks, the hardline Communists had their revenge. ZAtopek was expelled from the army, stripped of his role in national sport, and condemned to years of hard and degrading manual labor: cleaning toilets in a uranium mine. Only the protests of the sporting world saved him from a worse fate. By the time he was rehabilitated in 1989, he was old and broken, a shadow of the man he had been. Based on interviews with people across the world who knew him, as well as his widow, fellow Olympian Dana ZAtopkovA, journalist Richard Askwith breathes new life into the man and the myth and uncovers a glorious age of athletics and an epoch-defining time in world history Front Cover 1 Contents 6 Prologue 8 1: ‘Zá-to-pek! Zá-to-pek!’ 20 2: The Kopřivnice kid 27 3: Shoemaking 39 4: The soldier 65 5: Beginnings 86 6: The lights come on again 99 7: Love and death 116 8: The Czech locomotive 141 9: Mission: invincible 162 10: Fairy-tale Pete 177 Pictures 200 11: The longest day 208 12: The people’s champion 221 13: ‘Today we die a little’ 245 14: The ambassador 259 15: Spring fever 286 16: Disgrace 303 17: Exile 317 18: In the drawer 340 19: ‘Say it ain’t so, Emil’ 358 20: The last lap 378 Epilogue: Gold dust 390 Sources 406 Notes 414 Acknowledgements 470 List of Illustrations 472 Index 474 About the Author 486 Prologue : the curious incident 'Zá-to-pek! Zá-to-pek!' The Kopřivnice kid Shoemaking The soldier Beginnings The lights come on again Love and death The Czech locomotive Mission : invincible Fairy-tale Pete The longest day The people's champion 'Today we die a little' The ambassador Spring fever Disgrace Exile In the drawer 'Say it ain't so, Emil' The last lap Epilogue : gold dust. "Based on extensive research in the Czech Republic, interviews with people across the world who knew him, and unprecedented cooperation from his widow ... journalist Richard Askwith's book breathes new life into the man and the myth, uncovering a glorious age of athletics and an epoch-defining time in world history."--Dust jacket Richard Askwith. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.