Karel Komárek received Czech Olympic Committee Award

The Executive Board of the Czech Olympic Committee (COC) has conferred the first "Czech Team – Gold Club" award. The award purpose has been designed to decorate public figures that support sports and healthy lifestyle on a long-term and systematic manner. The first person to receive the award is Karel Komárek.

Aiming to to underscore exceptional activity and personal involvement in support for sports, the "Czech Team – Gold Club" award has been created by the Executive Board, the body that governs the Czech Olympic Committee, to honor individuals who promote Czech sports on a long-term basis. In introducing the award, the COC has followed in the footsteps of a tradition established during its early days, when numerous important figures of public life at that time, including Czech aristocracy, were referred to as "Gilt-Edge" with the aim of assigning an appropriate status and social prestige to sports.

According to the Czech Olympic Committee's President Jiří Kejval, entrepreneur Karel Komárek has been chosen as the first recipient of the "Czech Team – Gold Club" award mainly because he has been providing generous and systematic assistance to a wide range of sports events and numerous sports clubs for nearly two decades. During the last three years, he has been actively supporting youth sports. "Without Karel Komárek, we would be unable to launch several long-term projects that are mainly designated for children. We have to stop the trend of a decreasing number of youngsters involved in sports. Thanks to the Sazka Olympic Multiathlon, the Czech Olympic Foundation, and, most importantly, financial contributions from lottery earnings, we are making progress in this area," Kejval commented Komárek's support for sports, adding, "Karel Komárek not only supports sports as a patron, but also sets an example as an active athlete. That's why he is well aware of the importance sport plays in the life of both individuals and society as a whole."