The growing popularity of the CZU Athlete of the Year poll, which the university announces every year, is also reflected in the incredible number of 55 registered athletes. All of them can boast outstanding performances, so once again the jury did not have an easy decision to make. Given his performances last year and the honour he received from the President of the Czech Republic, sprint canoeist Josef Dostál was the clear favourite. He thus repeated last year’s triumph.
The awards ceremony for the university’s best athletes always takes place during a gala evening in the CZU auditorium. This year, took place on Monday, 27 April. For the first time in his role as rector, Michal Lošťák presented the awards, and Jana Kirschner and the Robert Balzar Trio provided an unforgettable musical experience.
The main organiser of the CZU Athlete of the Year poll, Head of the Department of Physical Education Dušan Vavrla, noted that although last year was not an Olympic year, our athletes still achieved outstanding results. “Unfortunately, one of the top athletes could not take part in the poll. Jan Zabystřan shone in the Alpine Skiing World Cup, but he did not meet the requirement of being an active student at the same time – at that point, he had interrupted his studies at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences. We hope that once he returns to school, he will make a significant impact on the rankings,” Dušan Vavrla remarked, adding that this year, two employees also took part in the competition. “I think it is good to recognise their sporting performance and enthusiasm for sport. And I am pleased that we have so many students involved in sport at CZU. We are among the universities with the highest number of elite athletes in their ranks, which also increases the prestige of CZU.”
Multiple world champion and Olympic champion Josef Dostál once again took gold, earning 148 points. With 130 points, paraglider Karolína Koudelová finished second. Rower Pavlína Flamíková won bronze with 105 points. Sprint canoeists dominated this year’s poll, making up half of the top twenty. The special award for the best athlete with a disability traditionally went to beach volleyball player Jan Žídek. A new addition was the 2025 Award for Outstanding Sports Performance, presented to two CZU employees. It belongs to Klára Burdová, a long-distance and ultramarathon runner, and Václav Suchánek, who is involved in vintage car racing.
CZU Athlete of the Year 2025, Josef Dostál, a student of the Faculty of Economics and Management, was among the 48 personalities honoured on 28 October 2025 by Czech President Petr Pavel. The sporting triumphs of the sprint canoeist, who has become a multiple world champion in kayaking, an Olympic champion and the holder of four additional Olympic medals, were thus crowned with a high state honour: the President’s Medal of Merit for services to the state in the field of sport. Even this was the reason why the jury once again selected Josef Dostál as CZU Athlete of the Year. Congratulations!
His life motto, “Not only to live, but to sail is necessary,” stands behind a long series of sporting achievements. The most recent of these is his title from Milan 2025, where he won his seventh world championship gold on the 500-metre course. The year 2024 was a dream year for the outstanding Czech athlete: at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, he won gold in the 1,000-metre race. It was his third consecutive Olympic medal, but his first made of the most precious metal. Josef Dostál then multiplied his Olympic triumph in Samarkand by winning the world title. At the end of the year, he went on to win the prestigious poll for the best athlete of the Czech Republic. For CZU, he is a true treasure of the sporting family.
A definite first in this year’s CZU Athlete of the Year poll is paragliding — the sport chosen by Karolína Koudelová, a student of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, and one that has taken her to the very top. Last year, she achieved a double triumph when she shone at the 13th FAI World Paragliding Accuracy Championship in Turkey in two categories. She won gold in the women´s and juniors categories and finished an excellent 4th overall among 140 pilots from 36 countries. At CZU, this enormous success earned her second place in the university’s best athletes´ contest.
A regular presence in this poll is rower Pavlína Flamíková, also a student of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, who once again earned third place among CZU’s top athletes thanks to her performances. This was due in part to her success at the World Cup in Varese, where she and Anna Šantrůčková confirmed their status as the current best Czech crew and finished third. They thus improved their recent result at the European Championship, where they finished sixth. Our Paris Olympians renewed their cooperation before the season, and their pair without a coxswain is moving remarkably fast.
CZU Athlete of the Year 2025 / TOP TEN
- Josef Dostál – sprint canoeing — FEM — 148 pts
- Karolína Koudelová – paragliding — FFWS — 130 pts
- Pavlína Flamíková – rowing — FFWS — 105 pts
- Zbyněk Pták – sprint canoeing — FES — 104 pts
- Ondřej Němeček – floorball — FEM — 73 pts
- Kamila Šímová – sprint canoeing — IEP — 62 pts
- Tomáš Sobíšek – sprint canoeing — FES — 51 pts
- Jan Čejka – hokejbal — FEM — 48 pts
- Aleš Tláskal – volleyball — FEM — 46 pts
- Klára Ticháčková – sport shooting — FFWS — 43 pts
Rector’s Special Award for the Best Athlete with a Disability:
Jan Žídek – beach volleyball — FEM
Outstanding Sports Performance 2025 – CZU Employees:
Klára Burdová – long-distance running, ultramarathons — Rectorate
Václav Suchánek – veteran motorsport — FAFNR
