Miroslav Vraštil (; born 31 July 1951) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

retired

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

and triple Olympian who represented

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. His son,

Miroslav Vraštil Jr. Miroslav Vraštil (; born 17 October 1982) is a Czech rower. He competed in the men's lightweight coxless four event at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics; he came eleventh in 2012 and twelfth in 2016. His father, Miroslav Vraštil Sr., re ...

, is also an Olympic rower. In 2010, Vraštil senior set the world record for finishing the most

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consid ...

races within one year – 22.

Rowing

Vraštil was born in 1951 in

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

. He started rowing in his home town aged 12. At the 1969

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing U19 Championships, former name World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 Decemb ...

in Italy, he won gold with the junior men's eight. At the 1971

European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organised by World Rowing (named FISA until 2020) for European rowing nations, plus Israel, which, though not a member of the European federation, is treated as a European n ...

in Denmark, he came seventh with the men's eight. In the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, he competed in the men's eight with the team coming tenth. At the 1973

in Moscow, he won a silver medal in the men's eight competition. In the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England, United Kingdom. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World ...

, he came fourth with the men's eight. He competed in

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in the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

in the men's eight, where the team came sixth. In the

1978 World Rowing Championships The 1978 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 October to 5 November at Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand. Twenty-eight countries were represented at the regatta. In the history of the World Ro ...

in New Zealand, he changed to the men's four boat and the team came fifth. At the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, he was the

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

of the

coxless pair A coxless pair, abbreviated as a 2- and also known as a straight pair, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each ...

, and he came fifth with Miroslav Knapek. In the

1981 World Rowing Championships The 1981 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 1981 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course in Oberschleißheim near Munich, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events ...

in Germany, he was fourth in the men's four event. A tumour in his right leg was diagnosed later in 1981. His doctors wanted to amputate the leg at the groin, but he insisted that the tumour be removed instead. Three months after the operation, the tumour stopped growing. He did not undertake any training for six months, but started again in the spring of 1982. Later that year, he came fourth in the

1982 World Rowing Championships The 1982 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 to 29 August 1982 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References {{World Rowing Champi ...

, where he competed in the men's four. In the following year, he competed with the men's four at the

1983 World Rowing Championships The 1983 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 3 to 4 September 1983 at Wedau in Duisburg, West Germany. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medals table Seventeen nations won medals of th ...

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, Germany, where the team came fifth. His fourth Olympic appearance was prevented through the

1984 Summer Olympics boycott The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved nineteen countries: fifteen from the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union, w ...

Retirement

After he finished his competitive rowing career, he worked as a rowing coach for five years. In 1993, Vraštil became a school teacher.

Triathlon

In 1988, Vraštil entered his first triathlon and of 130 competitors, he was almost last. He had lost his fitness after ten years with little exercise. He became more competitive in the event and in 2010, he embarked on the attempt to beat the world record of finishing more than 20

races within one year. He managed the feat and completed 22 races during 2010.

Family

Vraštil is married with five children. His two eldest children,

and a daughter, are also competitive rowers. His son has competed at the

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and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

for the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrastil, Miroslav 1951 births Living people Czechoslovak male rowers Czech male rowers Olympic rowers for Czechoslovakia Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Olomouc Czech male triathletes European Rowing Championships medalists