2024-04-10 21:11:46
She circled pirouettes on ice until she was 18. But then the figure skater Patricia Ježková became a weightlifter. And not just any. She has already broken Czech records in several weight categories. She gained 112 kilos over her head. In an interview with the daily Aktuálně.cz, she talked about how she initially struggled with prejudices about the female figure and how she can make a living by lifting weights.
Perhaps we would be hard pressed to find two sports as different as figure skating and weightlifting. How did you go from one to the other?
I started figure skating in kindergarten, it was a sport that accompanied me until I was 18. When I finished with him, I missed regular training, some kind of goal in the form of races and the racing atmosphere itself. And that’s how I got into weightlifting through fencing, classic exercise in the gym on machines and then mainly through CrossFit.
At the same time, you did not do badly on ice skates, you also have some republican successes. Why did you quit figure skating?
Probably mainly due to recurring ankle injuries. When I always got to some higher technical level, for example triple jumps, and then an injury came, after which it took some time to get to a higher level again. After that, I got injured again, and so on a few times, until it stopped making sense and probably even fun.
Figure skating is not only about the performed jumps, but also about the artistic impression, the marks of the judges. Is it a relief for you that you are mainly fighting yourself and the weights?
On the one hand, it’s quite a relief. I was always a “powerful” figure skater who was more successful in jumps, pirouettes and in general in power elements, and on the contrary I was losing in the artistic impression. On the other hand, even in weightlifting, the human factor plays a certain role in the form of a panel of judges. Even there, it is sometimes at least debatable whether a given attempt is recognized or not. It’s true that if I lift weights according to the rules, it doesn’t matter how I look when doing it, for example. It seems that they are different sports, but I see similarities there.
Seriously? What kind?
For example, during races. As with figure skating, you only have one attempt per element, the weight. You have practiced everything a million times from training, but then during the race it is a matter of one moment, a few seconds, whether you will be able to perform the given jump or attempt successfully. In both cases, it’s an incredible psychological onslaught and a battle in the head that everyone has to deal with on their own.
Has anyone discouraged you from weightlifting? That, for example, you will spoil your figure, that it is only for men and the like?
I wouldn’t say that he was completely discouraging. But certainly the parents, especially the mother, had to process it for a while. But after all, I was already an adult when I started strength sports and then weightlifting, so I didn’t let it talk too much.
And you thought about it like this?
It’s true that in the beginning I struggled with it a lot on my own, that I didn’t want to have those big thighs and shoulders and I was more concerned with appearance than performance. My ex-boyfriend helped me the most with this, who told me to be who I am, that I will never be a skinny “Barbie”.
Do you encounter similar prejudices until now?
Not really. But that’s probably because of the social bubble I’m in. Outside the circle of these people, I would definitely deviate from some of their ideals of beauty. Now, however, I would be able to settle such people, even though, as I say, it wasn’t always like that.
Czech weightlifters from Hané regularly organize calendar photoshoots, with which they try to reshape this “reputation” of weightlifters, what do you think of their initiative and have you already received an invitation to take a photo for that month in the calendar?
I received an invitation a few years ago, but I turned it down. I really like the idea as such and I would like to support it, but I don’t think it needs to be done in the form of nudes. Femininity can be expressed very well even in several pieces of clothing.
Since the big change in weight categories in 2019, you have so far confidently penetrated into the Czech history tables, already lifting 112 kilos above your head. How far do you want to go?
As much as possible. We are currently facing the World Championship in Bahrain in December, and the European Championship in April 2025. These are the two races that the entire preparation will focus on. The goal is to lift 100 kilograms, which in Czech history only one woman has succeeded in, namely in the highest weight category. At competitions, such an attempt of around 100 kilograms in my weight category up to 64 kilograms would already mean a very nice result.
The question arises why you are not talking about the Olympics. How realistic is it for the Czech weightlifter to get there?
For this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, no Czech weightlifter will succeed, we already know that. We currently have only one man in the game – Kamil Kučera.
The problem is, your ideal weight class isn’t even there, is it?
Yes. There is a category up to 59 kilograms, which I also tried, but it is already very little for me and I was not able to maintain the necessary strength and performance due to a lot of weight loss. At the same time, even my current records would certainly not be enough for qualification. The next category up to 71 kilograms is currently completely distant due to the required performances. We’ll see what the conditions and weight classes will be like for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
You are a trained economist who opened a gym with your former partner. That seems like an ideal option for someone who competes in weightlifting, do you feel that way?
Yes. I completed my master’s degree in the first half of the year after the gym opened. Which I still don’t understand how I managed. Otherwise, I definitely see my job as an advantage, even in top sports. I can’t really imagine having a standard eight- to nine-hour job somewhere in an office and doing sports at the top.
Is it even possible to make a living from weightlifting?
It depends on each individual. Certainly, in our sport, there are no facilities like, for example, in tennis, golf, football, etc. At the same time, if the weightlifter is at the top level and is part of a center such as Olymp, i.e. the Sports Center of the Ministry of the Interior, he can offer you such conditions that you are able to way to live But you certainly won’t get rich like in the sports mentioned above.