Emil Zátopek

Early years Zátopek was born in Kopřivnice as the seventh child in a family of modest means. Aged 16, he began working at the Baťa shoe factory in Zlín. Zátopek finished second in a field of 100. After that, he took up a serious interest in running by joining a local athletics club, where he developed his own training programme modelled on what he had read about the great Finnish Olympian Paavo Nurmi.

A mere four years later, in 1944, Zátopek broke the Czechoslovak records for 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000 metres. At the end of the war, he joined the Czechoslovak Army, became an officer and was gradually given more time for his gruelling training regimen.

The following year, Zátopek broke the 10,000 m world record twice and went on to better his own record three times over the next four seasons. He also set records in the 5,000 m (1954), 20,000 m (twice in 1951), one-hour run (twice in 1951), 25,000 m (1952 and 1955) and 30,000 m (1952). He won the 5,000 m and 10,000 m at the 1950 European Championships and the 10,000 m at the next European Championships.

At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Zátopek won gold in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and marathon, breaking Olympic records in each event. Zátopek is the only person to win these three long-distance events in the same Olympic Games. His victory in the 5,000 m came after a ferocious last lap in 57.5 seconds, during which he went from fourth place to first in the final turn, passing first Alain Mimoun of France, then Herbert Schade of West Germany and finally Chris Chataway of Great Britain. Zátopek's final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the marathon for the first time; he won the race. His strategy for the marathon was simple: race alongside Jim Peters, the British world-record holder. After a punishing first fifteen kilometres, in which Peters knew he had overtaxed himself, Zátopek asked the Englishman what he thought of the race thus far. The astonished Peters told the Czech that the pace was "too slow", in an attempt to deceive Zátopek, at which point the latter simply accelerated away. Peters did not finish, while Zátopek won the race and set an Olympic record. Zátopek beat second-placed Reinaldo Gorno (Argentina) by 2:01 minutes. He often wheezed and panted audibly while running, which earned him the nicknames of "Emil the Terrible" or the "Czech Locomotive". When asked about his tortured facial expressions, Zátopek is said to have replied: "It isn't gymnastics or figure skating, you know". In addition, he would train in any weather, including snow, and would often do so while wearing heavy work boots as opposed to special running shoes. He was always willing to advise other runners. One example he often gave of how to be relaxed was to ensure that, while running, a person gently touched the tip of their thumb with the tip of an index or middle finger; that slight contact would ensure that arms and shoulders remained relaxed.

Zátopek was known for his friendly and gregarious personality and for his ability to speak six languages. He was regularly visited at his home in Prague by international athletes he had befriended at competitions. His British rival Gordon Pirie described his as "the merriest and gayest home I've been in".

In 1966, Zátopek hosted the Australian Ron Clarke when he visited Prague for a race. Zátopek knew that while Clarke held many middle-distance track and field world records, he had failed to win an Olympic gold medal (including being beaten by Billy Mills in a major upset). At the end of the visit, Zátopek gave one of his gold medals from the 1952 Olympics to Clarke. In 2012, he was named among the first twelve athletes to be inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame. A life-size bronze statue of Zátopek was unveiled at the Stadium of Youth in Zlín in September 2014.

In popular culture The 2021 film Zátopek focuses on his personal life and sports career.

The most prestigious track race in Australia is named after him.

French writer Jean Echenoz published an updated biography of Zátopek titled Courir (Running).

A Bengali novel by Mati Nandi, Naran (নারান), mentioned him. In it he is the role model for the protagonist, a Bengali Hindu refugee from East Pakistan who relocated to Calcutta in 1947 to evade the religious onslaught and build up his life again from scratch.

The song "Czech Locomotive" by Australian psychedelic rock band Pond off of their album 9 is about him.

British punk-rock band Zatopeks chose their name after Emil Zátopek.

Škoda Transportation named its electric locomotive family 109E after him.