Czech athletes will train for Tokyo in Kochi

Czech athletes will prepare for the Tokyo Olympics in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Representatives of Kochi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Czech Olympic Committee. Last year sprint canoeists attended an acclimatisation camp in this region and next year a large training camp for athletes is planned. Training centres in Kochi provide conditions for almost all the summer sports important for the Czech Team.

“After the Winter Olympics our work continues without let-up with preparations for the Tokyo Games, which are sure to be memorable and have a great atmosphere thanks to the Japanese love of sport. Cooperation with the training centres in Kochi is one of the foundation stones for us,“ said Jiří Kejval, President of the Czech Olympic Committee.

The Czech Olympic Committee scoured the whole of Japan in the search for a suitable pre-Olympic training location. Kochi was selected in the end thanks to the training facilities and natural conditions, and also the exceptional warmth, hospitality and helpfulness of the local people.

“They are genuinely enthusiastic about assisting our athletes. We therefore concluded a memorandum of understanding on the organisation of training camps in the following years, with the most important taking place just prior to the Olympic Games,” explained Martin Doktor, Czech Olympic Committee Director of Sport. “Acclimatisation camps are one of the services provided to Czech athletes as part of the Top Team project. In cooperation with the best specialists and for athletes across all sports we help to ensure the fastest possible acclimatisation in combination with good quality sleep. The opportunity to arrange these camps is not just important with respect to the Tokyo Games, but also for Beijing 2022, which takes place in roughly the same time zone.“

In the autumn canoeists in the sprint disciplines tested the conditions in Kochi, including top canoeists Martin Fuksa and Jana Ježová. During a visit to the Dukla Rowing Club in Prague, representatives of the Kochi Prefecture met with her and double Olympic medallist, Jan Štěrba, when they inspected the training conditions for the best Czech competitors.

“We are doing our utmost to ensure they have excellent training conditions in Kochi, and then in Tokyo the best performance ever,” said Toshikazu Kadota, Director General of Culture, Comminuty and Sports Department, Kochi Prefectural Office. “We would also like to develop the exchange of experience. After the camp for Czech canoeists that took place in Kochi last autumn a local youth canoeing club was established. We are confident that we can inspire and assist each other in the field of sport,” he added when signing the memorandum.