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The 37-year-old paddler trained hard in the winter period and had a goal of winning a place in the national team. Unfortunately the hand injury prevented him in achieving this goal. He started at the first selection race in Veltrusy but was struggling, so he made a hard decision to end his professional career.

 

“The hand started to deteriorate. The connection with the cervical spine, which had been my weak link since 2010, was confirmed,” said Hradilek who plans another farewell during the Prague World Cup in June where he will be surrounded by many international friends.

 

Despite the fact he used the Czech Cup in Prague as a goodbye run, he still qualified for the A final.  “I thought it would be like any race, but it was different,” explained Hradilek for Czech media. “I don't know how to describe the feelings, so interesting, nice, beautiful. I really enjoyed it. The fans were amazing, the atmosphere was like at World Cup. I also came all the way because of them. My hands were terribly tired, and one of them doesn't work as well as it should,” he added.

 

Hradilek is considered one of the greatest canoe slalom paddlers of all times. He won silver medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, he also competed under the five rings four years earlier in Beijing. In 2013, he was crowned World Champion in front of his home crowd in Prague. He won individual silver World Championships medal in 2010 in Ljubljana – Tacen. In 2017, he became kayak cross World Champion in Pau. In addition, he has two gold, two silver and one bronze team medal from World Championships. At European Championships he won silver medal in 2016 and bronze medal in 2010. He also has five team medals from European Championships, four of them gold, one silver. He won six World Cup races, was second twice and had one bronze.