Czech Republic Nabs First 2016 Olympic Medal

Kayaker Jiří Prskavec took home bronze in the canoe slalom – and he would have had gold if not for a 2-second penalty

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 11.08.2016 10:51:44 (updated on 11.08.2016) Reading time: 1 minute

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The Czech Republic earned its first 2016 Olympics medal yesterday in Rio, as kayaker Jiří Prskavec won the bronze in the men’s K-1 canoe slalom.

“Unbelievable! I can’t express my feelings, but it’s wonderful,” Prskavec said from the podium after receiving the medal, reported iDnes.cz. 

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Slovenia’s Peter Kauzer took home the silver in the event, while the UK’s Joseph Clarke won gold with a time of 1:28.53.

Prskavec was a mere .45 seconds from Clarke’s time, coming in at 1.28:99. If not for a two-second penalty for grazing a slalom pole, the Czech would have handily taken home the gold.

“The touch was a shame. I was on the fastest Olympic run and could have won,” he said.

The Olympic medal is the 23-year-old’s first. His father, also Jiří Prskavec, was an Olympic slalom canoer who competed in Sydney in 2000, finishing 13th.

Czech Kateřina Kudějová will compete in the women’s K-1 canoe slalom later today.

More Czech Olympic coverage can be found via the Český olympijský tým on Facebook.

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