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News09 Oct 2001


Dvorak wins 2001 IAAF Combined Events Challenge and sets goals for 2002

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Dvorak wins 2001 IAAF Combined Events Challenge and sets goals for 2002
Alfons Juck for IAAF
10 October 2001 – Praha, Czech Republic – With the cancellation of the Afro-Asian Games, which were to be the last stage of the 2001 edition of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge, victory in the series and the $30,000 prize for first place went to triple decathlon World Champion Tomas Dvorak of the Czech Republic.

With this year's series under his belt, Dvorak has two main goals for 2002: to win both European Championships, indoors and outdoors. He confirmed that his win in this year’s IAAF World Combined Events Challenge was important for him, mainly because in 2000 his great Estonian rival Erki Nool had beaten him. His preparations for new season will start in three weeks. More in this exclusive interview for the IAAF.

What is the importance of the Combined Events Challenge win for you?

No doubt, it is a big thing. Mainly after last year as I lost to Erki Nool due to his Olympic win.

It was a nice ending to the season, although my score was not as high as in past years. But it confirmed it was a great season for me, maybe except for the first part.

How is the present and future position of this series from your point of view?

I see more positive things than negative. It is supporting our event and allows also decathletes, who do not have highest scores, to achieve nice positions.  Some of them are able to compete in three decathlons in one year and so could be successful in the series. After a long time of waiting, we finally have this series.  This year it was the fourth edition, I think we deserve more interest than we have now.

I’m not worried about the future, so long as the IAAF is the overseeing body.

What about your preparations for 2002?

Nowadays I'm still resting. I'm trying to do things, I did not have time during the year to do. I will be now for 14 days in Trebon, which is a bath and spa place. After that one week light running and then my first serious training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain. Then my next training camp afterwards at Grand Canaria (for two weeks). There I will start with the real training for the indoor season. During the winter I want to compete indoors in two heptathlons. The final weeks in preparation will be staged in Praha. At home I have everything that I need.

And the main goals for 2002?

Both European Championships, indoors and outdoors. Mainly at the outdoor event in Munich, I want to wipe out my past results. In Helsinki 1994 only 7th and 1998 in Budapest 5th, that is not a good record. That means I will try for the best possible result and position. I do not want miss also the annual event in the Austrian city of Goetzis and I want to have three good scores too in the IAAF Combined Events Challenge.

Do you think also about the world record?

Not too much. I do not want to have only this in my mind. It is sure, I would be happy to get it. But I want to leave it for the moment when it should and could happen. There will be no announcement before, but I will be ready.

You finished the cooperation with your long time training partner and world record holder Roman Sebrle, he is now no longer a member of the group of coach Zdenek Vana. What is your present view?

He left us, it’s nothing tragic. It is more a natural evolution. I am sure it will have no influence on my results, I hope for the opposite, that my results will be even better. I’m not a newcomer, I need my space and time for training and I have no spare energy for daily competition with younger and more vital colleagues. I need to save my energy for the most important things.

(With the kind help of Karolina Polakova, Czech Athletics)
Full details of the 2001 IAAF Combined Events Challenge can be found here.

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