Ristiin rastiin Zátopekien jalanjäljillä

Abstract

This essay is a narration about my attempt to follow a small part of Emil and Dana Zátopek’s journey in the Finland of the 1980s. The essay also documents my visit to Mrs. Dana Zátopková in February 2012. When travelling in the history, I meet the Professor of Sports Science Vojmír Srdečný who is also a Sachsenhausen survivor, like many other academic people of his generation. I look for the Zátopeks in the Finnish National Archive in Helsinki by going through the calendars and notebooks of Minister Johannes Virolainen. However, Virolainen has not written any notes about his meeting with the Czech couple. From Prague and Helsinki I return to my home town, Turku, where Emil Zátopek made one of his world records in August 1950 and where his idol, Paavo Nurmi is buried.