Zatopek's 1952 Sweep: Marathon Completes Helsinki Triple

by Marc Bloom

The Race

Emil Zatopek did every runner who came after him a great service. He invented the interval system of training that would become the hallmark of performance breakthroughs worldwide. Zatopek's punishing workouts, sprint after sprint with little rest, made the Czechoslovakian army captain the surpassing runner of his time and perhaps any other -- a man whose decade-long journey began shortly before the 1948 London Olympics, when he broke every Czech distance record. At London, Zatopek won his first Olympic title as an upset winner of the 10,000 meters (while also earning silver in the 5,000). With his gentle demeanor off the track, he remained a humble servant of running while his unique competitive style made him a revered combatant.

Zatopek's slashing arm action, hunched shoulders and tortured facial expressions, together with his experimental use of mid-race surges, made him a mystical presence with seemingly transcendent powers. Zatopek was called "The Locomotive," and "The Engine," and the sports columnist Red Smith wrote that he ran "like a man with a noose around his neck." Zatopek had even better quips. Asked about his interval-training, considered revolutionary, Zatopek said, "I already know how to run slow. I want to learn how to run fast." Asked about his thrashing running style, Zatopek said, "I am not talented enough to run and smile at the same time."

By 1952, Zatopek's talents had led to three of his 15 world records, and his pre-eminence was well-known at the Helsinki Games. He started with the 10,000, throwing in a final hard surge at 8-k to pull away from Alain Mimoun, the French-Algerian who would win the '56 Olympic marathon, for a 100-meter victory in 29:17.0, an Olympic record. While training in the Finnish capital, Zatopek, then 29, did workouts of 5 x 100, 20 x 400 and 5 x 100-twice a day-plus 6 miles of easy, recovery running daily. Imagine if he'd rested? Two days after the 10,000, Zatopek ran the 5,000 heats, and two days after that he raced the 5,000 final against several contenders including Mimoun. On the last lap, Zatopek sat in 4th with 200 to go. He looked like he was in trouble. But none of the men ahead had trained by running with a woman on his back, as Zatopek had done with his wife Dana-not a petite woman either but a javelin thrower who would win a gold medal in her event that same day in Helsinki. Suddenly, in the climax of the 5,000, Zatopek exploded with a kick, swept into the lead and, cheered by a crowd of 70,000, won in 14:06.6, another Olympic record. Again Mimoun got the silver.

Three days later, Zatopek entered the marathon. Zatopek had never run a marathon and had not trained for the distance. Well, maybe not formally. In the military, he had done runs up to 20 miles in army boots. But as a novice at 26.2 miles, Zatopek's only strategy was to follow the favorite, Jim Peters of Great Britain, who'd set a world record of 2:20:43 six weeks before. Had Peters fully recovered by the time the 66 men set out on the flat out-and-back course on the afternoon of July 27? Zatopek thought so. He'd gone over to Peters at the start to introduce himself. They would soon meet again.

Peters led the field through the 5-k in 15:43, 2:11 marathon pace. Peters had a strategy too-to get rid of Zatopek, who was 19 seconds behind. Zatopek's biggest problem was his shoes. In a novice mistake, he'd decided to run in a new pair but, after finding them stiff, coated the insides with cooking grease for comfort. Peters kept his lead through a 31:55 10-k. Zatopek, running with Swedish champion Gustaf Jansson, was 17 seconds behind. Soon Peters began to tire and Jansson caught him by 15-k with Zatopek closing as well. The lead split of 47:58 was still well under world record pace.

Then, near 20-k, with the three men together and Zatopek still unsure of proper pacing, he turned to Peters for help. Zatopek spoke six languages and said to Peters, "Jim, the pace-is it too fast?" With the pride of a world recordholder, Peters responded, "Emil, the pace-it is too slow."

With that, Peters tried to surge but the pace took its toll and he faded. Zatopek and Jansson drew ahead. They were side-by-side halfway but then Zatopek took over, gaining a 65-second lead by 35-k, by which point Peters had dropped out with a muscle cramp. Zatopek sailed the rest of the way, chatting with bicyclists on the sidelines, and entered the stadium to delirious cheering by the knowledgeable Finns. "Za-to-pek! Za-to-pek!" they chanted in sync with the Czech's stride. Zatopek won by two-and-a-half minutes in 2:23:04, a third Olympic record, making him the only runner to achieve the Olympic distance triple-5,000, 10,000 and marathon victories-in the same Games.

Zatopek placed 6th in the 1956 Olympic marathon (6 weeks after a hernia operation) and ended his career by winning the world cross-country championship in 1957. He received many government and civic honors but was expelled from the Communist party after criticizing the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. He lost his senior military position and was forced into hard labor and then menial clerical work, but in his public appearances Zatopek remained a zestful, charismatic folk hero. Zatopek died in November, 2000, after suffering a stroke. He was 78.

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