Famous Czech Sportspersons

Legendary Czech ice hockey player Jaromír Jágr is known as one of the finest right wingers of his time. A 2-time World Champion and an Olympic gold medalist, he is also known for his stints with NHL teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins.

With a career-high singles ranking of 28, Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová is quite a sensation. She also won a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She was the first player born in the 1990s to score a Grand Slam tournament win. In 2015, she was named the sixth-highest-paid female athlete by Forbes.

Dominik Hašek is a Czech retired ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. He is counted among the greatest goaltenders and is credited with leading his national team to its first Olympic gold medal. In 2014, he was made an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, Hašek was mentioned in the 100 Greatest NHL Players list.

Adam Ondra is a Czech rock climber who specializes in bouldering and lead climbing. Widely regarded as the leading climber of his generation, Adam is the first and only male athlete so far to win World Championship titles in both lead climbing and bouldering in the same year. Adam Ondra is considered the greatest professional rock climber of all time.

Petr Čech is a Czech retired football player who is currently serving as a performance and technical advisor for the popular English club Chelsea. During his playing career, Čech played as a goalkeeper and is often counted among the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Petr Čech is also considered the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League.

Petr Korda is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the Australian Open singles in 1998. He also won the Australian Open doubles in 1996 as well as the 1994 Hopman Cup for his country. In July 1998, Petr Korda tested positive for doping. He retired the following year shortly before he was to serve a 12-month ban.

Karolína Plíšková is a Czech tennis player best known for her powerful forehand and serve. A former world No. 1, Plíšková has reached the finals of two Grand Slam singles events so far. Karolína Plíšková has also helped her team win the prestigious Fed Cup on three occasions.

Josef Bican was an Austrian-Czech footballer who played as a forward. According to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, Bican scored more than 950 goals in 624 official matches, which makes him the second-most prolific goalscorer of all time in recorded history. In 2000, Josef Bican was honored with the Golden Ball by the IFFHS. 

Winner of four Olympic golds, three of which came from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Czech long-distance runner Emil Zatopek came to be known as the Czech Locomotive and The Bouncing Czech for his speed. He lost his Communist Party membership for criticizing the 1968 Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia.

Jana Novotná was a tennis player best remembered for winning the 1998 Wimbledon singles title. She was also renowned as a doubles player as she won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles, achieving the Career Grand Slam twice in the process. Novotná also competed in other important tournaments like the Olympics where she won two silver medals and one bronze medal. 

Tomáš Berdych is a Czech retired tennis player. Renowned for his powerful serve and forehand, Berdych is often counted among the best players to have never won a grand slam title. One of the most popular players to have emerged from the Czech Republic, Tomáš Berdych helped his team win the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013.  

Věra Čáslavská was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast who won 22 international titles, including 11 European Championships, four World Championships, and seven Olympic gold medals. The most decorated gymnast in Czech history, Čáslavská is the only gymnast to have won at least one Olympic gold in each individual event. In 1998, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Jarmila Kratochvílová is a Czech retired track and field athlete known for winning gold medals in the 800m and 400m events at the 1983 World Championships and setting a world record in the process in the 400m event. In 1983, she also set a world record in the 800m event. Kratochvílová also won a silver medal at the 1980 Olympics.

Jan Železný is a Czech retired track and field athlete who specialized in the javelin throw. With three Olympic gold medals under his belt, Železný is regarded as the modern era's greatest javelin thrower. Železný broke the world record on four occasions and currently holds the record with a throw of 98.48 metres. He is also a three-time world champion.

The son of former footballer Jiří Rosický, Tomáš Rosický is known as The Little Mozart for setting the tone of the game on the field. He has represented teams such as Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal and has scripted history as the fourth-highest goal-scorer of his country.

Barbora Krejčíková is a Czech tennis player best known for winning the 2021 French Open singles title. A successful doubles player, Krejčíková has won four Grand Slam doubles titles and three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles so far. Barbora Krejčíková also represented her country in the 2020 Olympic Games where she won the gold medal in the women's doubles event.

Kristýna Plíšková is a Czech tennis player who holds the record for the highest number of aces served in a WTA Tour match, which she set while playing against Monica Puig Marchán at the 2016 Australian Open. Kristýna Plíšková has won one singles title on the WTA Tour so far.

Czech footballer Matěj Vydra is best known as a striker for the English club Burnley. Known for his speed, he began his senior career with teams such as Vysočina Jihlava and Baník Ostrava. He has also been part of the Football League Championship runner-up team of Watford.

Lucie Šafářová is a Czech retired tennis player best known for her achievements in major doubles events such as Grand Slams. The former world No. 1 in doubles, Šafářová won five Grand Slam doubles, including two Australian Open and two French Open. Lucie Šafářová also earned a bronze medal for her country at the 2016 Olympics along with Barbora Strýcová.

Although he had been part of the Olympic silver-winning Czechoslovakian ice hockey team, Jaroslav Drobny gained more fame as a tennis player. He achieved the rare feat of having played Wimbledon for four different countries: Czechoslovakia, Bohemia-Moravia, Egypt, and, Britain. He also won 130 singles titles throughout his career.

Czech professional tennis-player Kateřina Siniaková won Grand Slam titles at 2018 Wimbledon Championships, 2018 French Open, 2021 French Open and 2022 Australian Open; and a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in women’s doubles, all with compatriot Barbora Krejčíková. They became world No. 1 in doubles on October 22, 2018. Siniaková also won the 2018 Fed Cup with the Czech team.

Jan Veselý is a Czech basketball player who has represented his country in important tournaments like the EuroBasket Championships and Olympic Games. A four-time Turkish League champion and three-time Turkish Cup winner, Veselý is renowned for his versatility as he can play as a power forward as well as in center positions.

Karolína Muchová is a Czech tennis player who won the 2019 Korea Open, her first title on the WTA Tour. Over the course of her career, Muchová has scored victories over popular players like Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolína Plíšková, and Ashleigh Barty. Muchová has been praised for her ability to manufacture winners from typically defensive shots like drop shots and lobs.

Barbora Strycova is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the 2019 Wimbledon in the women's doubles event. She also won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games along with Lucie Šafářová. Strycova was an important member of the Czech Republic team that dominated the Fed Cup for almost a decade; she won six Fed Cup titles.

Hana Mandlíková is a retired tennis player best known for winning four Grand Slam singles titles. She also won the doubles title at the 1989 US Open. Mandlíková won the Fed Cup for Czechoslovakia on four occasions. Counted among the greatest players of all time, Hana Mandlíková was made an inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994.

Marketa Vondrousova is a Czech tennis player best known for winning the silver medal in the singles event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. At the age of 19, she reached the finals of the 2019 French Open, becoming the first teenage Grand Slam finalist since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. Marketa Vondrousova is considered one of the best returners.

Czech former tennis player Jan Kodeš won three Grand Slam singles events during the early 1970s, including the French Open in 1970 and 1971, and the Wimbledon in 1973. .His accomplishments include winning 9 top-level singles titles and 17 doubles titles, receiving Czech Fair Play Award from the Czech Olympic Committee, and getting inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Jiří Procházka is a Czech mixed martial artist and the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He first achieved national prominence in 2011 when he won the gold medal at the Czech National Championships for Muay Thai. Jiří Procházka also won the inaugural Czech GCF Light Heavyweight Championship title as well as the inaugural Rizin FF Light Heavyweight Championship title.

Patrik Berger is a Czech retired footballer who won four trophies playing for Liverpool between 1996 and 2003. Renowned for his powerful strikes and strong left foot, Berger was named Czech Footballer of the Year in 1996. He also competed in important tournaments for his national team and helped his team reach the finals of the 1996 UEFA European Championship.

Czech footballer and coach Josef Masopust, counted among the greatest midfielders of all time, helped his team reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final and was named the European Footballer of the Year that year. He scored ten goals for Czechoslovakia and was capped 63 times. FAČR chose him as the country's Golden Player to celebrate the UEFA's 50th anniversary in 2004.  

Tomáš Kalas is a Czech football player who represented his national team at the UEFA Euro 2020. He currently plays for the Bristol City Football Club. Tomáš Kalas has been an important player for the Czech Republic national team since 2012. 

Linda Fruhvirtová is a Czech tennis player who has won three singles titles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit so far. Since 2020, she has been climbing up the ladder of the WTA-ranking. Linda Fruhvirtová is also considered a player to watch out for in the future.

Ester Ledecká is a Czech alpine skier and snowboarder. She is best known for winning gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics in parallel giant slalom. In the 2018 Olympics, Ledecká also won gold medal in the super-G event, becoming the first person to win two gold medals using two different types of equipment at the same Winter Olympics.

Also known as Peter the Great, Peter Šťastný was one of the most prominent offensive players of the NHL. The Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player was second to Wayne Gretzky in terms of the highest scores in the 1980s. A 2-time world champion, he has also been a European parliament member for Slovakia.

Tomáš Satoranský is a Czech basketball player best known for his versatility as he can play in multiple positions. A five-time winner of the Czech Player of the Year award, Satoranský helped his national team qualify for their first FIBA World Cup in 2019. A Spanish Supercup winner, Satoranský currently plays for the Washington Wizards, apart from the national team. 

Jiří Veselý is a Czech tennis player who was part of the 2013 Davis Cup winning team The current Czech No. 1 in singles, Veselý has won two titles on the ATP Tour so far. His best Grand Slam result came in the 2016 and 2018 Wimbledon where he reached the fourth round of the competition on both occasions.

Helena Suková is a Czech retired tennis player who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles during her illustrious playing career. She also helped her national team win the prestigious Fed Cup on four occasions and the Hopman Cup in 1989. Helena Suková is also an Olympic medalist, winning silver medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games.

Radek Štěpánek is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the 2012 Australian Open and the 2013 US Open along with Leander Paes in men's doubles. Štěpánek also won the Davis Cup for his country in 2012 and 2013. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Radek Štěpánek won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event.

Antonín Panenka is a Czech former football player best known for winning the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship with the Czechoslovakia national team. In 1980, he was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year. Antonín Panenka is credited with popularizing panenka, a style of penalty named after him.

Karel Poborský is a Czech retired football player best known for winning the 1997 Premier League title as part of the Manchester United team. Renowned for his pace and technical ability, Poborský was also an important player for the Czech Republic national team from 1994 to 2006. Karel Poborský was named Czech Footballer of the Year in 1996.

The Czech Republic’s highest-rated chess player, David Navara has 11 national championship titles in his kitty. He was named an International Master at 14 and a Grandmaster at 16. He has also won an individual gold at the 2012 Chess Olympiad, representing the Czech team.

Czech figure-skater Vera Ralston represented her nation under her birth name Věra Hrubá at the 1936 European Figure Skating Championships, the 1936 Winter Olympics, and the 1937 European Figure Skating Championships. She later immigrated to the US and became a naturalized citizen. She made her name as an actress appearing in films like Storm Over Lisbon, Dakota, and The Fighting Kentuckian.

Filip Jicha is a Czech former handball player who played for the Czech Republic national handball team from 2000 to 2016. Jicha, who scored 816 goals in 148 games for his country, was named IHF World Handball Player of the Year in 2010. Filip Jicha is the current head coach of THW Kiel, which competes in the Handball-Bundesliga.

Marek Jankulovski is a Czech retired football player best known for winning the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup in 2007 with AC Milan. In the same year, he was named Czech Footballer of the Year. Jankulovski also played for his national team, winning the bronze medal at the 2004 UEFA European Championship in Portugal.