Twenty-two-year-old white water kayaker Vavra Hradilek is busy tuning his body for the 2012 Olympics. His recipe for success? Salt, ice and Czech food.
Legs
"You don’t need really strong legs to kayak, but I tend to keep them fit as I do other sports too. If I just practised paddling with my arms I’d look a monster. I need to use my legs in the boat for balance because the water is very changeable; on a given run you may need different movements than those for the run before. Without good legs, I wouldn’t be able to paddle well."
Lungs
"I’ve had asthma since birth. It can be unpleasant and a lot of sufferers stay away from sport. But I think sport is one of the best treatments for asthma, as you won’t find a better way to train your lungs, and if I use my inhaler every morning and evening, I keep it under control. I also do breathing exercises, especially when I’m running or cross-country skiing as part of my training. They’re really useful at a race, because if I get nervous, breathing correctly helps to keep me calm. From next season we’ll start cryotherapy. It’s the opposite of a sauna, with temperatures of -100°C. You enter ‘the cube’, stay inside for two minutes and it’s said to be more effective than a sauna. I may also go to the salt caves in Prague, artificial rooms made with Dead Sea salt. It’s just like going to the seaside; the air helps you breathe. I’ve done both these things, and they’re really good for my asthma. It seems weird, but they work."
Arms
"In the winter season we kayak in really cold water. It makes you more susceptible to joint and muscle injuries because, when the body is cold, it’s not focusing all its power on performance, it’s focusing on keeping warm. Arms and shoulders are particularly sensitive to this, but so far I’ve been pretty lucky and never had any really serious injuries. There’s always some pain when I train hard, but I will always train hard. I hope to compete in the Olympic games in London, to feel that atmosphere."
Head
"I think a good attitude before a race is important as you have to be focussed, so if you have other problems it really affects your ability. Way back when, things I had on my mind during important races stopped me caring enough about my performance. Our sport isn’t like a football match where, if someone makes a mistake at the beginning, they have 89 minutes to repair the damage. When you make a mistake at the beginning of a kayak course, you only have about 80 seconds remaining so you’re pretty much out already."
"I don’t follow a strict diet. I do this sport because I love it, I just don’t care too much about the diet. If an athlete is training hard and doing a lot of activity, it’s not important to have a strict diet. I travel a lot, so I like to try different cuisines, but Czech food, the stuff of my homeland, is still my favourite. I try to be healthy but if I have an urge to have a burger, I’ll have a burger."
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