On Saturday 5 March 2016, I. PKO Praha organised the Czech Winter Swimming Breaststroke Championships. Our swimmers performed superbly on home ground, taking home more medals than any other participating club. The venue was Podolí Swimming Stadium’s unheated outdoor pool.
Only swimmers who had met the qualifying standards could enter the breaststroke championships. Other swimmers could enter a freestyle competition held alongside, outside the championships themselves.
Sunshine had warmed the water to 8.4°C, while the air was a cooler 1.9°C. All distances — 100, 250, 500 and 750 metres — were timed, and officials monitored compliance with pool swimming rules. Swimmers more accustomed to open water had to watch their strokes and turns carefully to avoid disqualification in the championship races. Their main concerns were touching with both hands at turns and avoiding an uneven kick. Nevertheless, several swimmers from different clubs were disqualified.
Championship partners
The main partner was Oborová zdravotní pojišťovna, the health insurer for employees in banking, insurance and construction.
The event was held under the patronage of Prague City Hall and councillor Jan Wolf, with further support from the relaxation centre BYTOSTAV s.r.o..
Championship results
Breaststroke championships: I. PKO Praha’s achievements
Our swimmers won thirteen medals: two golds, seven silvers and four bronzes. We surpassed rivals FIDES Brno in the total number of medals, although FIDES took five golds to our two. We even swept all three podium places in men’s Masters A over 750 metres.
Breaststroke medallists
| Place | Swimmer | Distance | Time | Category | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | OKURKOVÁ Magda | 750 m | 13:00,9 | Women | FiBr |
| 2. | LEIŠOVÁ Lucie | 750 m | 14:08,2 | Women | I.PKO |
| 3. | NOVÁKOVÁ Iveta | 750 m | 14:45,1 | Women | SCPAP |
| 1. | HOMOLKA Martin | 750 m | 14:01,8 | Men | FiBr |
| 2. | KALVODA Jan | 750 m | 14:10,2 | Men | I.PKO |
| 3. | TKACZ Łukasz | 750 m | 14:19,8 | Men | I.PKO |
| 1. | NAZIEMIEC Leszek | 750 m | 14:29,8 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 2. | TLAMICHA Zdeněk | 750 m | 15:17,6 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 3. | VALNÍČEK Jakub | 750 m | 15:49,4 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 1. | MIHOLA Petr | 750 m | 14:48,1 | Men – masters B | FiBr |
| 2. | HOUŽVIČKA Pavel | 750 m | 15:36,4 | Men – masters B | I.PKO |
| 3. | HRBATA Vladimír | 750 m | 15:54,6 | Men – masters B | FiBr |
| 1. | RADOŇOVÁ Jana | 250 m | 06:09,6 | Women – masters C | SKNá |
| 2. | ČUDANOVÁ Vlasta | 250 m | 06:21,1 | Women – masters C | KomBr |
| 3. | ŠTANGLOVÁ Marie | 250 m | 06:36,7 | Women – masters C | I.PKO |
| 1. | KREUZ Petr | 250 m | 07:49,5 | Men – masters D | I.PKO |
| 1. | CEDIDLA Aleš | 250 m | 04:17,0 | Junior boys | DeNá |
| 1. | KULHÁNKOVÁ Vladislava | 500 m | 11:46,6 | Women – masters A | SlPl |
| 2. | SRBOVÁ Radmila | 500 m | 11:56,3 | Women – masters A | I.PKO |
| 3. | DEMLOVÁ Alena | 500 m | 13:21,8 | Women – masters A | SyPa |
| 1. | KOUŘILOVÁ Sylva | 500 m | 12:32,2 | Women – masters B | FiBr |
| 2. | TOMÁŠKOVÁ Dana | 500 m | 12:56,2 | Women – masters B | I.PKO |
| 3. | JUŘENOVÁ Alena | 500 m | 14:19,0 | Women – masters B | I.PKO |
| 1. | SUCHOPA Radomír | 500 m | 10:29,0 | Men – masters C | FiBr |
| 2. | KOSEK Jan | 500 m | 12:34,1 | Men – masters C | SCPAP |
| 3. | KOUŘIL Pavel | 500 m | 12:36,6 | Men – masters C | FiBr |
| 1. | KRČMAŘOVÁ Alena | 100 m | 03:08,9 | Women – masters D | JPK |
| 2. | ČERNÁ Božena | 100 m | 05:15,1 | Women – masters D | I.PKO |
Czech Championships (duathlon): I. PKO Praha’s achievements
The duathlon combines the two championships: freestyle in Brno and breaststroke in Prague. Times from both are added to determine the overall results. Here too, I. PKO Praha topped the medal count, winning ten medals: four golds, four silvers and two bronzes.
Duathlon medallists
| Place | Swimmer | Distance | Time | Category | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | KALVODA Jan | 750 free + 750 breast | 26:13,8 | Men | I.PKO |
| 2. | TKACZ Łukasz | 750 free + 750 breast | 26:53,4 | Men | I.PKO |
| 3. | SLÁMA Zdeněk | 750 free + 750 breast | 26:59,0 | Men | ČOUPr |
| 1. | NAZIEMIEC Leszek | 750 free + 750 breast | 26:29,8 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 2. | TLAMICHA Zdeněk | 750 free + 750 breast | 26:56,0 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 3. | GRZYWA Marek | 750 free + 750 breast | 30:14,2 | Men – masters A | I.PKO |
| 1. | MIHOLA Petr | 750 free + 750 breast | 27:39,5 | Men – masters B | FiBr |
| 2. | MORAVEC Michal | 750 free + 750 breast | 27:55,6 | Men – masters B | FiBr |
| 3. | ŠVESTKA Jaromír | 750 free + 750 breast | 28:43,3 | Men – masters B | UnOl |
| 1. | SUCHOPA Radomír | 500 free + 500 breast | 18:53,3 | Men – masters C | FiBr |
| 2. | KOUŘIL Pavel | 500 free + 500 breast | 22:18,5 | Men – masters C | FiBr |
| 3. | HAVEL Jaromír | 500 free + 500 breast | 36:41,5 | Men – masters C | I.PKO |
| 1. | KREUZ Petr | 250 free + 250 breast | 16:19,7 | Men – masters D | I.PKO |
| 1. | CEDIDLA Aleš | 100 free + 250 breast | 05:21,0 | Junior boys | DeNá |
| 1. | OKURKOVÁ Magda | 750 free + 750 breast | 22:58,5 | Women | FiBr |
| 2. | NOVÁKOVÁ Renata | 750 free + 750 breast | 24:35,7 | Women | SCPAP |
| 3. | NOVÁKOVÁ Iveta | 750 free + 750 breast | 25:24,5 | Women | SCPAP |
| 1. | SRBOVÁ Radmila | 500 free + 500 breast | 21:11,8 | Women – masters A | I.PKO |
| 2. | KULHÁNKOVÁ Vladislava | 500 free + 500 breast | 21:19,2 | Women – masters A | SlPl |
| 3. | DEMLOVÁ Alena | 500 free + 500 breast | 25:03,7 | Women – masters A | SyPa |
| 1. | KOUŘILOVÁ Sylva | 500 free + 500 breast | 21:59,0 | Women – masters B | FiBr |
| 2. | JUŘENOVÁ Alena | 500 free + 500 breast | 26:53,5 | Women – masters B | I.PKO |
| 1. | ČUDANOVÁ Vlasta | 250 free + 250 breast | 11:19,9 | Women – masters C | KomBr |
| 2. | ŠTANGLOVÁ Marie | 250 free + 250 breast | 12:11,6 | Women – masters C | I.PKO |
| 3. | FIALOVÁ Vladimíra | 250 free + 250 breast | 13:38,2 | Women – masters C | FiBr |
| 1. | KRČMAŘOVÁ Alena | 100 free + 100 breast | 05:38,5 | Women – masters D | JPK |
Freestyle
There was also freestyle racing for swimmers not taking part in the breaststroke championships. Results were subsequently combined with the breaststroke times by distance. Freestyle entrants either had not met the qualifying requirements, had not entered the championships, or had chosen a shorter distance for organisational reasons. Long or short, the aim was to win! What a shame Radek Táborský did not enter the championships…
I. PKO Praha’s freestyle achievements
| Place | Swimmer | Distance | Time | Category | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | TÁBORSKÝ Radek | 750 free | 11:01,8 | 750 men | I.PKO |
| 2. | SEBERA Luboš | 250 free | 05:56,5 | 250 men | I.PKO |
| 1. | VACHTOVÁ Jitka | 250 free | 04:34,8 | 250 women | I.PKO |
| 1. | PROKOP Tomáš | 100 free | 01:38,3 | 100 men | I.PKO |
| 2. | MÁŠA David | 100 free | 01:43,4 | 100 men | I.PKO |
| 3. | TREFNÝ Martin | 100 free | 02:14,5 | 100 men | I.PKO |
Note: this table excludes championship entrants and swimmers from other clubs.
Short distances at winter swimming competitions are not always timed, and everyone then receives the same participation points. At this event every distance was timed, so all swimmers could compare their speed. Shorter swims earn fewer points than longer ones: alongside speed, winter swimming places greater weight on cold tolerance, reflected in the distance completed and the resulting points.
Championship and freestyle results
- Prague Czech Championships: breaststroke results
- Prague Czech Championships: duathlon results
- Prague results: freestyle and breaststroke combined
This fourth edition of our championships was a real success. But we must not rest on our laurels: next year we would like even more gold medals.
Tomáš Prokop on Radio Impuls
Cold-water swimming is healthy, increases the body’s resistance to illness and colds, and has a positive effect on mental wellbeing. Our I. PKO Praha chairman Tomáš Prokop spoke briefly on Radio Impuls about why people take it up.
Video reports and photo galleries
Adriana Špottová: Podolí 2016 Czech Breaststroke Championships awards
Adriana Špottová: 2016 duathlon awards
Photo gallery by Antonín Kutil
More photo galleries
- Jiří Kuřina: Czech Winter Swimming Championships