Rostislav Vítek

Rostislav Vítek (born January 6, 1976) is a Czech swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon.[1] He represented his nation Czech Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and eventually became the nation's first ever swimmer to cross the English Channel with a remarkable seven-hour record.

Rostislav Vítek
Personal information
Full nameRostislav Vítek
National team Czech Republic
Born (1976-01-06) 6 January 1976
Příbram, Czechoslovakia
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesOpen water
ClubKometa Brno
CoachZdenek Tobiás

Vitek competed as a lone open water swimmer for the Czech Republic in the inaugural men's 10 km marathon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Leading up to the Games, he scored a third-place time in 1:59:35.5 to claim the bronze medal and enter the top ten field at the 10 km Marathon Swimming Olympic test event in Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.[2][3] Farther from the leaders by about eight body lengths, Vítek pulled away from the bottom of the field to drop beneath a 1:53 threshold for the seventeenth spot with a time of 1:52:41.8, about fifty seconds behind winner Maarten van der Weijden of the Netherlands.[4]

In 2009, Vitek successfully swam the English Channel at 7 hours, 16 minutes, and 25 seconds, which eventually became the fourth fastest solo single-crossing of all time.[5] Because of his outstanding achievement and full commitment to the sport, he was nominated as 2009 World Open Water Swimming Performer of the Year.[6]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rostislav Vítek". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  2. "Open Water Test Event: Petar Stoychev Wins Men's 10K, Qualifies for Olympics". Swimming World Magazine. 1 June 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. Munatones, Steven (1 June 2008). "Open Water Test Event: Olympic 10K Marathon Swim Fields Set". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. "Swimming: Men's Marathon 10km". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  5. "The English Channel World Record Still Standing At 6:57". Daily News of Open Water Swimming. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. "2009 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year Nominees". Open Water Source. Retrieved 13 January 2013.


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