Emil Zatopek

“You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and...”

“To boast of a performance which I cannot beat is merely stupid vanity. And if I can beat it that means there is nothing special about it. What has passed is already finished with. What I fin...”

“In my country, I am just a common man... a nobody.”

“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.”

“The childhood games ended for me when I was 14 and I finished school. I had to find a job, not an easy thing in those days.”

“Sometimes I feel that old desire. Then my body tells me it is 50 years old. I take the easy way instead.”

“I had started as an average athlete - a normal boy. It took me three years to win a race. I was glad that I endured those three years - that I did not give up.”

“I'm not interested in how long I can hold out, but in how fast I can reach the finishing line.”

“There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.”

“If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply...”

“If I run 100 meters 30 times, that is 3 kilometers and no longer a sprint.”