A broken glass, a shoe tossed over the shoulder, and spiders in the house all signify good fortune according to Czech folk customs. But a Tom-Selleck-style ’stache?
At least one successful Czech considers it an effective good-luck charm.
Since 2011, Olympic medalist Eva Samkova has been sporting a painted-on mustache in the colors of the Czech flag before hitting the slopes.
Eva Samkova getting her mustache drawn on before finals, as is her tradition. pic.twitter.com/ZHcb97Wq09
— Shawn Smith (@ShawnSmithNBC) February 16, 2014
Samkova debuted the red-white-and-blue fauxstache at the 2011 Snowboarding World Championships in La Molina.
When asked why she started rocking the colorful pencil-thin the 24-year-old Vrchlabí native told reporters, “I wanted to have fun.”
Samkova’s gender-bending antics have been the subject of multiple articles in the international media, especially during coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
A post shared by Eva Samková – Samčízant (@eva_samkova) on
It certainly worked for the snowboarding dynamo back then—Samkova raced to a gold medal in the snowboard cross at Sochi.
And it seems to have done the trick once again. Before taking home a bronze today in the same event at PyeongChang, Samkova painted on her trademark handlebar mustache.
The tradition continues! Eva Samkova racing with a mustache in the colors of the Czech flag. #Olympicspic.twitter.com/dUwcWoO2sp
— Shawn Smith (@ShawnSmithNBC) February 16, 2018
New Olympic champ, Italian Michela Moioli took gold with a bare upper lip.
To watch coverage of the 2018 Olympic games from PyeongChang see here.
For more Czech superstitions see here.



