Mimoun and Zátopek always ran together and inspired each other. The 5km race is therefore designed for pairs, who will run a total of 10km side by side. The race is a symbolic handing-over of the presidency from France to Czechia, as cooperation is necessary to succeed not only in sport, but also in politics. “Running in pairs is a very interesting idea to me. The partners have to adapt their pace to each other and cooperate. Collaboration will also be crucial for our presidency to be successful,” said the Czech Ambassador Edita Hrdá, who together with the French Ambassador to the EU, Philippe Leglise-Costa, will symbolically start the race.

To take part in the race, we kindly ask participants to register online, as the number of runners is limited. Both professionals and occasional runners are welcome to sign up. There will also be a race for children that will take place at 2.30 p.m., as well as an opportunity for them to have a go at javelin throwing in honour of Olympic champion Dana Zátopková. Czech Olympian and record holder Jarmila Kratochvílová will also attend the event.

During the event, participants will have the opportunity to find out more about Czechia’s regions. The regional representatives, Petra Pecková, Vítězslav Schrek and Jan Schiller, will also hand out prizes to the winners of the race, together with the European Commission’s Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Themis Christophidou. The final event of the day will be the Belgian premiere of the film Zátopek, which will be screened at 7.30 p.m. at Bozar. 

STORY OF THE FRIENDSHIP OF CHAMPIONS

If it had not been for Zátopek, Mimoun would have won several Olympic gold medals. The Algerian-born athlete finished second to Zátopek in the 10km race at the London Olympics in 1948. Four years later, the same thing happened at the Olympics in Helsinki in both the 5km and 10km races. Nevertheless, there was no animosity between the two runners. Mimoun admired Zátopek, even though he always lost to him. They celebrated their medals together. “I am satisfied. The man who beat me is a great champion,” explained Mimoun on receiving his silver medals.

The last race they competed in together was the marathon at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. The conditions of the race were difficult because of the high temperatures; Zátopek had also recently recovered from an injury. He fell behind the other runners, but he wanted his friend to win. Zátopek told Mimoun to keep running without looking back, which he did, overtaking the Russian runners who were leading the race and finally winning a gold medal at the Olympics.

They were rather different in nature – Zátopek had a strategy for each run; Mimoun, on the other hand, trusted his instinct. However, they shared life values and a sense of fair play and humour. They visited each other often and supported each other in their personal lives. Not even the Cold War managed to break their friendship. When Zátopek died in 2000, Mimoun said he felt as if he lost a brother. Forever second, Mimoun died in 2013.

PROGRAMME OF THE DAY:

• 14:00 Registration
• 14:30 Children’s race (400m) – Olympians Štěpán Janeček and Grazyna Prokopek-Janeček will take part in the race
• Afternoon World record holder Jarmila Kratochvílová greets competitors, additional events for children including javelin throwing, presentation of Czech regions
• 15:00 Main race starts
• 16:15  Results announced, followed by prizegiving
• 19:30 Screening of the film Zátopek at Bozar

Please register for the running event here. The tickets for the screening are available on the Bozar website. You can also follow the event on Facebook. The event is organised by the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU, Czech Centre Brussels, the magazine Zátopek and the Czech Olympic Committee, in partnership with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Belgium and Czech Tourism.