On Thursday, 27 October 2022, at 6 p.m. in the conference hall of the House of the Army in Prague, the award ceremony of the Army Sportsman of the Year was held.  The poll has been held since 1996, last year it was triumphed by sports shooter David Kostelecky.

Ski and snowboarder Ester Ledecká won the poll for the best military athlete of 2022. The three-time Olympic champion, who dominated the parallel giant slalom in Beijing this year, scored 844 points. Javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch, the European vice-champion and bronze medallist at the world championships, finished second with a loss of 242 points. Martin Fuksa, the European speed canoeing champion, was third.

“First of all, I am honoured to represent the Czech Army. It’s in my family with my grandfather, who started the tradition,” Ledecka said.The granddaughter of hockey player Jan Klapac earned a standing ovation during the announcement. “I would like to thank you for the standing ovation. My mom was the first to stand, so I thank her for getting it started. But I believe you would have stood up anyway,” Ledecká joked.

JK