LONDON 2012

Not even one single rain shower made an appearance during the 16-day London Games Even so, the Czech Olympians were prepared for anything the famous British weather had in store. Aside from multicolour jackets which changed colour thanks to water, Czech athletes received umbrellas and colourful rubber boots which caught the attention of the whole world during the opening ceremony. During medal ceremonies these boots were proudly worn by athletes such as Špotáková and Kulhavý (gold) we well as silver medallists in the tennis doubles Hradecká-Hlaváčková. In their Olympic collection, our fashion designers incorporated certain elements from the famous work of art by František Kupka Amorpha – Fugue in Two Colours symbolising the desire to push our boundaries.


František Kupka made his mark in the history of world modern art as a co-founder of the abstract art movement. He foresaw the development of modern thinking in art, particularly due to his insight, education and intellectual versatility. He provided for the anchoring of Czech art in the European cultural environment. As a member of the Abstraction-Création group he participated in the development of progressive global art.


Although František Kupka is one of the most significant global artists of the last century, his work was not fully appreciated in the Czech artistic or public environment. Kupka´s abstract visions, rich, original structure of artistic expression and opinions, as well as individual theories were so pioneering and futuristic that only recently, thanks to new scientific and psychological discoveries, the depth of his work is being again discovered and understood.

Gold medals:

Miroslava Knapková - Rowing Women's single sculls
Barbora Špotáková - Athletics Women's javelin throw
David Svoboda - Modern pentathlon Men's event
Jaroslav Kulhavý - Cycling Men's cross-country

Silver medals:
Vavřinec Hradilek - Canoeing Men's slalom K-1
Ondřej Synek - Rowing Men's single sculls
Andrea Hlaváčková, Lucie Hradecká - Tennis Women's doubles

Bronze medals:
Adéla Sýkorová - Shooting Women's 50 m rifle 3 positions
Zuzana Hejnová - Athletics Women's 400 m hurdles
Jan Štěrba, Josef Dostál, Daniel Havel, Lukáš Trefil - Canoeing Men's K-4 1000 m