Josef Dostal got the better of fellow Olympic champion Martin Fuksa to be crowned Czechia’s Athlete of the Year for 2024.
The two Paris 2024 gold medallists finished in the top three with Dostal polling first ahead of Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in second and Fuksa who ranked third.
Dostal became only the third paddler to be named Czechia’s Athlete of the Year as he followed in the footsteps of Attila Szabo and Martin Doktor won achieved the title in 1989 and 1996, respectively.
It was a dream season for Dostal who claimed men’s kayak single 1000m gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics and captured the men’s K1 500m world crown in Samarkand.
View this post on Instagram
Dostal now holds five Olympic medals after achieving bronze at London 2012, bronze and silver at Rio 2016, bronze at Tokyo 2020 and gold at Paris 2024.
The 31-year-old is only the second Czech athlete after javelin thrower Jan Zelenzy to win a medal at four Summer Olympic Games
Fuksa also had a sensational year as he powered to the men’s canoe single 1000m title at Paris 2024 as well as earning silver at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships and silver and bronze medals at the European Canoe Association Canoe Sprint European Championships.
Dostal and Fuksa faced competition from tennis players Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac, ice hockey players Lukas Dostal, David Pastrnak and Roman Cervenka, athletics duo Nikola Ogrodnikova and Jakub Vadlejch and field hockey player David Pastrnak.
They were not the only representatives of canoeing who were awarded at Czechia’s Athlete of the Year ceremony. The 2024 winner of the award for Devotion to Sport went to Josef Fuksa, a long-time coach and grandfather of Martin Fuksa.
The Czech Canoe Union said it was “a historic success” to have both Dostal and Fuksa in the top three and “proof that hard work pays off”.
“The achievements of Josef Dostál and Martin Fuksa are an inspiration for the young generation of athletes and for all fans of sprint canoeing,” the statement from the Czech Canoe Union added.
Related links
