Michal Rubáček (born 19 December 1986) is a Czech swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a multiple-time Czech national record holder for the butterfly events (50, 100, and 200 m).
Rubacek made his first Czech team, as a 17-year-old, at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, where he competed only in butterfly and relay freestyle events. He also joined with his fellow swimmers
Květoslav Svoboda
Květoslav Svoboda () (born August 25, 1982 in Znojmo) is an Olympic freestyle swimmer from the Czech Republic. He swam for the Czech Republic at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics.Josef Horký, and Martin Škacha in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Swimming the lead-off leg, Rubacek recorded a split of 1:51.37, and the Czech team went on to finish heat two in seventh place and thirtieth overall, for a total time of 7:26.26. Few days later, Rubacek won the second heat of the men's 100 m butterfly by approximately one second ahead of Uzbekistan's Oleg Lyashko, with a time of 54.87 seconds. Finishing only in thirty-ninth place, Rubacek failed to qualify for the semifinals.
At the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Rubacek qualified for the second time in the men's 100 m butterfly, by clearing a FINA B-cut of 53.71 from the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
in
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Eindhoven () is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 ...
. He challenged seven other swimmers in the fourth heat, including three-time Olympians
Ioan Gherghel
Ioan Ştefan Gherghel (born August 8, 1978 in Baia Mare, Maramureş, Romania) is an Olympic butterfly swimmer from Romania. He swam for Romania at three consecutive Olympics: 2000, 2004 and 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwis ...
of Romania and
Juan Veloz
Juan José Veloz Dávila (born 24 September 1982 in Mexico City, Mexico) is an Olympic and national record-holding swimmer for Mexico. He swam for his native country at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics.
Career
At the 2002 Central American an ...
of Mexico. Rubacek raced to fourth place by five hundredths of a second (0.05) ahead of Veloz, breaking a new Czech record of 53.53 seconds. Rubacek failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed forty-second out of 66 swimmers in the preliminaries.
At the
2009 FINA World Championships
The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...
in
Rome, Italy
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
, Rubacek dipped under a 52-second barrier, and lowered his record to 51.99 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100 m butterfly. Few weeks later, he won a bronze medal in the same stroke at the
Summer Universiade
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred t ...
in
Belgrade, Serbia
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 millio ...
, posting his time at 52.33 seconds.
On 27 March 2012 Rubacek ordered a two-year suspension from the Czech Swimming Federation ( cs, Český svaz plaveckých sportů, ''CSPS''), after he was tested positive for a banned stimulant
methylhexanamine
Methylhexanamine (also known as methylhexamine, 1,3-dimethylamylamine, 1,3-DMAA, dimethylamylamine, and DMAA; trade names Forthane and Geranamine) is an indirect sympathomimetic drug invented and developed by Eli Lilly and Company and marketed as ...