Quotes from Emil Zatopek

What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.

There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.

Try for a goal that's reasonable, then gradually raise it.

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on.

In my country, I am just a common man... a nobody.

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.

I was not talented enough to run and smile at the same time

It is not necessary to smile and make a wonderful impression on the judges.

Sometimes I feel that old desire. Then my body tells me it is 50 years old. I take the easy way instead.

I had started as an average athlete - a normal boy. It took me three years to win a race. I was glad that I endured those three years - that I did not give up.

The childhood games ended for me when I was 14 and I finished school. I had to find a job, not an easy thing in those days.

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on.

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.

Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater.

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to.

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.

My running was very simple; it was out of myself.

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to.