52 Quotes by Emil Zatopek

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 find more interesting is what is still to come.

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on.

My running was very simple; it was out of myself.

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 that I just have to.

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.

When I was young, I was too slow. I thought I must learn to run fast by practicing to run fast, so I ran 100 meters fast 20 times. Then I came back, slow,slow,slow. People said, 'Emil, you are crazy. You are training like a sprinter.'

You can't climb to the second floor without a ladder. Try for a goal that's reasonable, then gradually raise it.

Perhaps sometimes I was like a mad dog. It didn't matter about style or what it looked like to others; there were records to break.

If you want to win a race try the 100 meter. If you want to win an experience try the marathon.