František Čapek started out as a boxer, but he switched to canoeing when already in his twenties. Originally competing for KVS Praha, he switched to army club Dukla Praha after the war. Čapek’s greatest triumph came in the 1948 Olympics, when he won the now defunct C-1 10,000 m event. Olympic competition began poorly for him, as Čapek couldn’t manage his usual 30 push-ups before the race, but he proceeded to win the race with a comfortable 200 m victory margin. He won his only other international medal in 1954, when, aged 38, he placed second behind compatriot Jiří Vokněr at the World Championships in Mâcon, France. Čapek also won seven national titles. After ending his competitive career, he remained involved in canoeing, working as a coach for Dukla until his retirement in 1978. Čapek, who had been honored for his involvement in the 1945 Prague Uprising, kept practising sports well into his eighties.
Czechoslovakia
Czechia