That is also why, after the last unsuccessful attempt on the bar at a height of 466, at first she sat on the mat and shook her head. Only after a few moments did she stand up and wave to the spectators who were chasing her.
“A bit grumpy,” assessed the twenty-four-year-old Švábíková’s performance on Saturday. “The third attempt at 455 was nice, but I’m sorry that I didn’t jump at least 466. I realize that once you break the Czech record, the fans want to see more and more. And of course I feel the same.”
It is her big goal at the moment to push the best domestic record. It is not just a record, but 473 centimeters is also the sharp Olympic limit for Paris.
After last breakthrough season, games under five circles are her next task. Last year, she confirmed that after the titles at the junior world championship and the European championship under 23 years old, she can also succeed among adults. She won bronze at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, and in the summer she headed to the World Championships in Budapest, where she made her way to the finals in her debut.
And now Paris!
The goal is clear.
“Overcoming 473 is already quite a height,” he realizes. “But I have to say that I believe in myself. It’s certainly not that I’m afraid of heights. I have definitely stabilized in terms of performance. I’m glad that I stabilized around 450 to 460. Then centimeters are added more easily.”
Amálie Švábíková rejoices after a successful pole vault at the indoor championship of the Czech Republic in athletics in Ostrava.
She got over 450 centimeters three times this year – at her first start in Strahov, at the Czech Indoor Gala and now at the Czech championship. Understandably, take her word “easier” with a lot of caution. At such heights, adding every extra centimeter is not easy. As he says, everything has to come together. Speed, technique, psychology.
“Higher heights are jumped mainly from speed. You really need to run, be fast, stable on the rebound and transfer as much energy as possible to the pole. We can see it with world-class female racers, they are especially incredibly fast,” she describes.
In Ostrava, she did not lack speed, but she was unable to combine it with technique. “Physically, I felt good, even in the run-up. I was drawn to it, so to speak,” she said. “But that’s probably why I didn’t work as well on the pole and couldn’t connect it with her.”
She worked on connecting all the parts of the successful experiment over the winter. In training, she sometimes set a height of 480 centimeters.
Pole vaulter Amálie Švábíková competes in the final of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
“But only for rubber. We jump on the bar less, because it’s a bigger risk and you can get injured,” he says. “But training is something else. I’m mainly a racing type. I can’t get excited during training and I don’t jump well technically either. From a short start, it’s still okay, but from my full, sixteen-step run, I’m definitely racing better.”
It also grew stronger over the winter. Last year, before the season at a training camp in Africa, she injured her calf muscle and was unable to play sports fully for a month, as a result of which she lost muscle mass.
Everything went smoothly now. “I definitely sped up. But more muscles also mean that I am heavier than last year,” he reflects. “So it’s about fifty-fifty. In some ways it is better, in some ways it is not. But I have to deal with it and match speed with strength and technique.”
She will have another chance next week at the meeting in Clermont-Ferrand, France, where she won last year with a performance of 466, and she believes that at the beginning of March, when the world championships are held in Glasgow. Švábíková’s participation in it is not yet certain. On Sunday, however, she was in the twelfth position in the world ranking, which guarantees participation.
“I hope no one threatens me anymore. Of course, I didn’t know how I would be in the ranking, but we are heading towards Glasgow for the whole indoor season,” she says.
And maybe he won’t stay here under his desired goal.
Let’s keep the record in the family! Švábíková wishesAmálie Švábíková entered the competition in Ostrava at a height of 429 centimeters. But would she be bored while waiting for her attempts? Nowhere. After all, her sister Apolena fought in the sector. “I was just teasing the sister rather than giving her any advice,” said the more experienced Amálie. “During the jump, I yell at her to get the pole going, because that’s her biggest problem right now. Technically, he’s struggling a bit now, they changed the transition with the coach, so he doesn’t know how to deal with him yet.” Her advice also helped. Talented Apolena, silver pole vaulter at last year’s European Youth Olympic Festival, improved her personal record to 391 centimeters in Ostrava and took sixth place. “I believe that in the summer he will jump even higher and show the limit at the Junior World Championships,” says Amálie. “I also believe she might follow in my footsteps one day. If I wish for someone to beat my Czech records, let it be my sister. I want them to stay in the family. Since she’s a little bit in my shadow right now, I want her to shine so badly.” |
2024-02-18 10:47:00