Martina Sablikova became the most successful Czech athlete at the Olympic Games. She won the bronze medal in the 5,000m speed skating final in Beijing, winning the seventh Olympic medal of her career. This was the fifth participation in the Winter Games for the athlete.
“I am very happy because I did not think I would be able to win a medal. But now I have a bronze medal. I just can’t find words. A month ago I didn’t know if I would compete in Beijing. The preparation was difficult”, said Martina Sablikova.
She admitted that she was very nervous before the race.
“I’m very proud, but I really still can’t believe it”, said Martina Sablikova, who spoke of giving up after the Games, but is not so sure now. “I won a medal, so we’ll see. I’ll wait until the end of the season and then I’ll think about what I’ll do next year”, added she.
Martina Sablikova, 34, is a Czech speed skater, specializing in long track speed skating. She is an Olympic gold medal winner and a multiple European and World allround champion. She became the first Czech to win two Olympic gold medals at one Winter Games in Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Martina Sablikova also competes in inline speed skating and road cycling races as a part of her summer preparation for the skating season. In cycling, she focuses especially on individual time trial discipline in which she holds multiple Czech Republic National Championships titles and belongs to the world’s top 15 female time-trialists.
