“It’s a wasted opportunity,” kayaker Vavřinec Hradilek says about the upcoming Olympics. Although Russian and Belarusian athletes have the opportunity to participate in the Games under a neutral flag if they oppose the war in Ukraine, according to Hradilk, this is not enough. “If any Russian athlete would do that, nothing good awaits him at home,” adds the water slalom athlete, adding that a form of asylum should be considered.
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Vavřinec Hradilek | Video: Blahoslav Baťa
“Politics has always been in sport in some way, whether it was a totalitarian or a democratic regime. Of course it shouldn’t be related to it, but I don’t like lying to myself that it doesn’t belong in this,” says the Olympic medalist about how he is often athletes are reprimanded when they comment on political events.
It is said that he himself received a “lens” several times on social networks for publicly proclaiming his support for war-torn Ukraine. He said he also heard from some sports officials that this does not benefit the sports industry. “It was suggested to me that maybe I should consider what I say,” reveals Hradilek and hopes that the global situation will calm down and people will stop arguing not only because of opinions about the war. “The discussion is getting frustrating,” he adds.
Hradilek, who ended his professional career this year, will not rush into big politics himself, but he would still like it if the company took an active interest in public events. In his sports “retirement”, he plans to devote himself primarily to his family and travel – he would like to visit Greenland or across the rivers to the Himalayas. “I would like to get there while I am relatively fit,” he describes his future plans in an interview with Svetlana Witowska.
You can watch the entire interview in the introductory video or listen to it in your favorite podcast app.
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