Rostislav Vítek (born 6 January 1976) is a Czech swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon.[1] He represented his nation Czech Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and eventually became the nation's first ever swimmer to cross the English Channel with a remarkable seven-hour record.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rostislav Vítek |
| National team |  Czech Republic |
| Born | 6 January 1976 Příbram, Czechoslovakia |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Open water |
| Club | Kometa Brno |
| Coach | Zdenek Tobiás |
Vitek competed as a lone open water swimmer for the Czech Republic in the inaugural men's 10 km marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to the Games, he scored a third-place time in 1:59:35.5 to claim the bronze medal and enter the top ten field at the 10 km Marathon Swimming Olympic test event in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.[2][3] Farther from the leaders by about eight body lengths, Vítek pulled away from the bottom of the field to drop beneath a 1:53 threshold for the seventeenth spot with a time of 1:52:41.8, about fifty seconds behind winner Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands.[4]
In 2009, Vitek successfully swam the English Channel at 7 hours, 16 minutes, and 25 seconds, which eventually became the fourth fastest solo single-crossing of all time.[5] Because of his outstanding achievement and full commitment to the sport, he was nominated as 2009 World Open Water Swimming Performer of the Year.[6]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rostislav Vítek". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "Open Water Test Event: Petar Stoychev Wins Men's 10K, Qualifies for Olympics". Swimming World Magazine. 1 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ Munatones, Steven (1 June 2008). "Open Water Test Event: Olympic 10K Marathon Swim Fields Set". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "Swimming: Men's Marathon 10km". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "The English Channel World Record Still Standing At 6:57". Daily News of Open Water Swimming. 16 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "2009 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year Nominees". Open Water Source. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
External links
edit- Official website (in Czech)
- NBC 2008 Olympics profile
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