Petr Procházka

Who is Petr Procházka?

Petr Procházka is a Czechoslovak-Czech sprint canoer who competed from 1982 to 2006.

World junior champion in Belgrade in 1982, Procházka missed the 1984 Olympics because of the Eastern Bloc's boycott but went on to win two medals at the 1987 senior World Championships in Duisburg, West Germany. In the individual C-1 500 m he was the silver medallist. He also won a bronze medal in the C-2 500 m with partner Alan Lohniský. At the 1988 Summer Olympics however he came a disappointing eighth in the C-1 500 m and ninth in the C-2 500 m.

Ten years later, at an age when most canoers are contemplating retirement, Procházka was embarking on a remarkable run of victories as a member of the Czech four-man C-4 200 m crew. He won a world championship gold medal in 1998, followed by four European titles. The 200 m, the shortest race distance, was ideal for Procházka, with his great physical strength and excellent technique more than compensating for a natural loss of stamina.

At the age of forty-two, the evergreen Procházka and the C-4 200 m crew finished in fourth place at the 2006 European Championships held in Račice in the Czech Republic. They had lost their European crown, but a month later they finally became world champions in Szeged, Hungary, an astonishing achievement for Procházka, the oldest competitor at the championships. Procházka would win a total of ten world championship medals in his career.