Taťána Netoličková

„We got to the final which was a great experience for me although I got, as the athletes say, the worst track, the first one. But when you’re in a good shape, you can run well in the first or the ninth track as well. We were glad that there were two of us in the final run, that we could support each other. The dash was great, Jarmila spiced it up with her new world record. I was not that far behind her at the three hundred meters mark and in the last hundred meters. Soem people asked me whether I was forbidden to outrun her. That would never occur to me, nobody had ever told me anything like that. If I had the chance and if I was strong enough, I’d outrun her, nobody would let such an opportunity lapse. But I was out of power. Only because she was in such a lead, I followed her. It was very hard, I was not that strong. After she finished, her time showed on the clock, I saw that it was not starting with an eight, forty eight seconds, but forty seven, ninety nine. I was the first one who could announce it to her ear when I hugged her. She didn’t believe it at first, then it was confirmed at the results board. I’m eternally grateful to Jarmila that she took me by hand and we ran the victory round together. It was tough because I was unbelievably tired, exhausted. I had hard time lifting my feet, I couldn’t hold my hands properly, like a runner. During those four hundred metres of the victory round, I got it out. The mental relief that at home, they know how we finished, it helped me and when I finished that victory round, I felt better.”

„I was there with Helena Fibingerová, at the concrete stands at the old stadium in Vítkovice, I remember it clearly how we learned about it. We were on the verge of crying, although we like the Golden Spike competition, we told each other: ‚This is going to be the peak of our career, Golden Spike and nothing more.’ At the end, it was decided that there will be some sort of compensatory Olympics for us. They divided us, even, men’s events were to be held in Moscow and ours, thank God, in Prague. We followed each other’s events. It was pretty difficult althouh I had a successful year – I won three medals – it is not remembered. For some people, it has no meaning. For me, it is important because I won the silver medal and I also beat jarmila. She had some health problems, I was surprised that I walked to the podium and Jarmila was not joining me. I thought she finished third but in reality, she was the fifth, I think. I felt a bit sorry because the journalists cared only for the medal winners, Jarmila stood at the background and nobody noticed her. That’s the beauty and the evil of the sport, when everything is going fine, everything is okay, when you’re not doing well, there are no people to pat your shoulders. When you need the support most, you’re left alone. I considered it a great event [the Družba Friendship Games in 1984], we felt it really deeply because it was taking place in our country. When they called us to the track, I and Jarmila went from under the stands. The spectators started to roar and I got goosebumps. I had to hide back under the stands, I thought: ‚Jesus, there’re so many people, they’re cheering us, we’re at home!’ The atmosphere was great, it was different than Helsinki.I thought: ‘We have to show what we can do now.’I considered it a successful year but there’s still that sadness that we were not allowed to go to the Olympics. We read how the Olympics sucked, that people did not care, that there were no spectators. Then we went to Waldkraiburg, the Vítkovice team had a partnership with them, and we watched TV there, it was in Western Germany and the Olympics were broadcasted there. We saw the packed stands, the atmosphere was much better than Helsinki, it was breaking our hearts.“