Slovakian walker Mária Katerinka Czaková had to go to the care of medical professionals immediately after the 20 km Olympic race. In Paris under the Eiffel Tower, she reached her Olympic maximum and took 34th place. However, at the finish line, she had a fever of more than 40 degrees and took an ice bath.
Photo: Michal Svítok
Mária Katerinka Czaková on the track during the women’s 20 km walk.
Katerinka Czaková gained six positions in the final seven kilometers and lost only one second to Hungarian Rita Récsei one lap (1 km) before the end. She eventually reached the finish line with a 7-second lead over the Slovak.
“I arrived at the finish line very exhausted, they took me to an ice bath, I had a high fever. I lay in the cold water for about 20 minutes because it didn’t go down, now it’s probably good,” said a visibly exhausted Katerinka Czaková in the mixing zone.
The 35-year-old athlete stayed on the border of the fourth tenth for a long time, and shortly before three quarters of the race, it looked as if she used the saved strength. However, she stated for TASR that she went all out the whole time:
“I can’t say that I saved my strength. I went to the maximum, but it’s been 20 years since we’ve been working together with the coach and it’s experience. As for the conditions, I’ve raced in different countries and today was really challenging.”
The four-time Olympian also appreciated the backdrop of the track directly under the Eiffel Tower. Thursday’s race was in stark contrast to the previous games in terms of atmosphere.
These were marked by the coronavirus pandemic, and the runners were also in Sapporo, which is more than 1,000 kilometers away from the then venue of the Tokyo Games.
“It’s beautiful, it can’t be compared to Tokyo, it was the covid period and there were no spectators. We enjoyed this atmosphere, so it’s great,” added Katerinka Czaková for TASR.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
