She was demanding above all on herself. It was partly thanks to this that Květa Pecková became a three-time Olympic medallist. She stayed in sport afterwards – as a teacher, a methodologist, a television co-commentator and an official. After fourteen years, however, she is now passing on her role as chairwoman of the Czech Fair Play Club – into the hands of Šárka Strachová, Olympic bronze medallist and world champion in alpine skiing. “I do not feel tired, yet I have reached a point where I concluded it was wise to hand over my position,” said Pecková. “I believe Šárka will build on her successful sporting career in a wonderful way.”
The Czech Fair Play Club, which is part of the Czech Olympic Committee, is 45 years old this year. Pecková had been at its helm since 2006. “For me, the fair play club is at a beautiful, mature stage. The beginnings were modest, but it gradually carved out its place in the sun and became part of the COC,” she recalled. “Today we are glad to have a colourful mosaic of personalities forming the presidium. I firmly hope that we have entered the awareness of the sporting public and that this will continue.”
Jiří Kejval, chairman of the Czech Olympic Committee, added: “I have a good feeling about the fact that the club is a mix of people from different fields and opinions, that it works well. I have known Květa since I was twenty. She has always been for me the embodiment of a hard stance towards oneself. I hold her in enormous respect and I think nothing ends with this.”
Květa Pecková will now be the honorary chairwoman of the fair play club. “When it is at all possible, I will be happy to help – whether with advice or some specific task,” assured the lady who in recent years was also a member of the leadership of the European Fair Play Movement. The audience applauded her long years of promoting fair play with a standing ovation; from the Czech Olympic Committee she received a PRIM watch as a token of gratitude for spreading the ideas of fair play.
During her sporting career Květa Pecková won a bronze medal in the 5 km classic race at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid and defended it four years later in Sarajevo, adding a silver medal from the relay. She is also the holder of a world bronze medal from Oslo 1982.
Her successor, thirty-five-year-old Šárka Strachová, is taking on the new role with humility. “It is a great challenge for me to take over this position from someone who held it for fourteen years, and moreover from Květa, who is an immense inspiration to me,” Strachová revealed. “Květa is precise and devoted herself to the club with great care. But I like challenges, so I am looking forward to it.”
Source: www.olympic.cz
