Silver Coin 200 CZK Dana Zátopková, Emil Zátopek 100th Anniversary of Birth 2022 Proof

Dana Zátopková, Emil Zátopek - 100th anniversary of birth

On the reverse side of the coin are portraits of Dana and Emil Zátopek. The texts "DANA AND EMIL", "ZATOPKOK" and "1922-2022" are in an incomplete description around the perimeter of the coin. The initial of the author of the coin design is placed above the text '2022'.

The obverse side of the coin features a composition of running tracks, spears and the national flag. The text 'CZECH REPUBLIC' appears in the description around the perimeter of the coin. The denomination with the abbreviation of the monetary unit '200 CZK' is located below the national flag.

Born on the same day and year (19 September 1922), Dana and Emil Zátopek were legendary athletes of Czechoslovak sport. The javelin thrower and the endurance runner met at athletics competitions in Zlín in 1945 and married after returning from the first post-war Olympics in London in 1948.

Dana Zátopková, née Ingrová, originally from Fryštát, was a versatile athlete. She started playing handball at grammar school and in 1949 became the Czechoslovak champion. At the same time she discovered the discipline of javelin throw. Already as athletics champion of the republic she participated in the Olympics in London. At the following Games in Helsinki she won the gold medal with a throw beyond the 50 m (50.47 m). She won 17 Czechoslovak and 3 European records by winning national and European competitions. In 1958 she became the world record holder with a throw of 55.73 m. She won a silver medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
After retiring in 1962, she worked as a youth coach and central coach of the throwing events. She is active in the International Athletics Federation and a member of the Czech Olympic Club's presidium.
She has received numerous awards and honours during her lifetime, including the Olympic Order (1988) and the State Medal of Merit 2nd Class (2003).
Dana Zátopková lived to the age of 97, and died in Prague on 13 March 2020.

Kopřivnice native Emil Zátopek, called Ťopek, is considered one of the best athletes in history. He set 18 world records over five-kilometre, ten-kilometre and mile distances. For his characteristic running style accompanied by a grimace, he was nicknamed the Czech Locomotive or Emil the Terrible abroad.
He won gold and silver medals at his first Olympics in 1948. He became a legend with his performance in 1952 at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, where he gave a performance that has not been repeated to this day. He won in three events while setting a new Olympic record for each - the 5 km (14:06.72), 10 km (29:17.0) and marathon (2:23:03.2). The third event, the marathon, was the first time he had ever completed the event. At the 1956 Olympics, he was injured during training and finished sixth in the marathon. He retires from the sport in 1958.
After the end of the war, he became a professional soldier and a member of the Communist Party. The turning point came after the entry of the occupying Warsaw Pact troops. In 1969 he is forced to leave the army and continues to earn a living as a worker digging wells.
For his contribution to sport, he was awarded, among other things, the Silver Olympic Order (1989), the Medal of Merit 1st Class (1998) and in memoriam the highest award of the International Olympic Committee - the Pierre de Coubertin Medal (2000).
Emil Zátopek died in Prague on 21 November 2000 at the age of 78.

Each silver coin is stored in a protective plastic capsule and placed in a dark blue box along with a certificate of authenticity from the CNB.