Vojtěch Mareš

Vojtěch Mareš was a Czechoslovak handball player and coach who spent more than five decades associated with the sport. Mareš began his career as a player in the late 1950s, becoming a mainstay at Dukla Praha from 1959 until his retirement in 1971, winning nine league titles. During this time he was also a regular in the national side, playing in more than 100 matches and winning the World Championship in 1967.

From 1988 to 1989 Mareš was the head coach of the Czechoslovakia men’s national team, which saw him take charge at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The team finished sixth after losing to Sweden in the final round play-off match. Mareš then lived and worked in the United States during the first half of the 1990s, coaching both the men’s and women’s national teams. With the latter he reprised his role as head coach at the Olympics, with the US women’s team finishing sixth at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. He later returned to Europe where he coached the Czech Republic women’s team from 1997 to 2001, followed by a stint in charge of the Slovakia women’s team.