Lukáš Krpálek (; born 15 November 1990) is a Czech heavyweight judoka. He is a former world champion (

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) and European champion (

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), former and current Olympic Champion (

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

). He is the most successful judoka in Czech and Czechoslovak history, and was named Czech Judoka of the Year eight times between 2008 and 2015.

Personal life

Krpálek took up judo by chance – he wanted to train in karate, but his uncle mistook judo for karate. His brother Michal is also a judoka who served as a sparring partner for the Czech judo team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2015 Krpálek married Eva Kaderková; they have a son Antonín, born in 2016. Krpálek is an avid

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

collector and

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or rec ...

Judo career

Junior

Krpálek took up judo when he was 6 years old in his hometown of

Jihlava Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava ...

under the tutorship of Josef Šimáček. His first coach described him as very tall and slim with poor agility and technique. In 2005 Krpálek moved to a new club SCM Brno, where he was led by the coach Jaroslav Švec. In this year he also became a member of Czech national cadet judo team. In 2006 Krpálek achieved his first international success when he came in second at the Cadet European Judo Championships. From 2007, he was part of the national junior judo team, which was then led by Krpálek's current coach

Petr Lacina Petr Lacina (born 27 July 1973) is a Czech judoka. He competed in the men's middleweight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He is currently a coach of the Czech olympic champion Lukáš Krpálek Lukáš Krpálek (; born 15 November 1990) i ...

. His first major success in the junior category came in 2007 when he finished 5th at the Junior European Judo Championships. Next year Krpálek became both the world and the European junior champion.

Senior

2009–2011

On 6 June 2009 Krpálek won his first senior Grand Prix tournament in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. In August the same year he participated in his first

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Judo at the Summer Olympics, Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year (except the years when the Olympics take place ...

, held in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

that year. He was defeated in the first round by the French judoka

Cyrille Maret Cyrille Maret (born 11 August 1987) is a French judoka. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same na ...

. Later in 2009 Krpálek was defeated in the final of the Junior European Judo Championships by

Elmar Gasimov Elmar Gasimov ( az, Elmar Qasimov, born 2 November 1990) is an Azerbaijani judoka, who competes in the -100 kg division. He has competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a silver medal in 2016.Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, who would become his great rival at senior level. However Krpálek became the world junior champion again that year. His biggest rival in 2011 was the Japanese judoka

Takamasa Anai is a Japanese judoka. He began judo at the age of 5. He is Coached by former world champion and olympic silver medalist Shinichi Shinohara. He won the All-Japan Championships and took the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2009. H ...

. He defeated Krpálek in the final of Grand Prix in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

and later in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

again, this time in the third round. At the European Championships in 2011 Krpálek placed fifth after being defeated by two

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

judokas. In June he won three Grand Prix tournaments in a row and became the first Czech judoka since the independence of the country to win a medal at the

, when he won a bronze medal in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

2012 Olympics

At the start of the 2012 season, Krpálek was already guaranteed a spot at the

2012 Summer Olympic The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. At the beginning of the year, his preparation was complicated by a

back injury Back injuries result from damage, wear, or trauma to the bones, muscles, or other tissues of the back. Common back injuries include sprains and strains, herniated discs, and fractured vertebrae. The lumbar spine is often the site of back pain. ...

. As a result, he was unable to train for a month; nonetheless he was able to win the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Grand Prix tournament in February. At the European Championships he was defeated in the second round by Zafar Machmadov. On 2 August Krpálek participated in the Olympic 100 kg tournament. His first match was in the second round against Japanese judoka

, world champion from 2010. Krpálek won by

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

within 25 seconds. In the quarterfinals he fought against the reigning world champion at that time, Tagir Khaibulaev from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. With one minute remaining Krpálek was leading by one yuko, awarded after his successful Ōuchi gari technique. Fighting on the ground, Khaibulaev was able to get away from his opponents grip, then he proceeded to successfully hold Krpálek and was awarded an ippon. After the defeat Krpálek faced

Henk Grol Hindrik Harmannus Arnoldus "Henk" Grol (born 14 April 1985 in Veendam) is a retired Dutch judoka. Judo career Grol competed in the 2007 European Judo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in the men's under 90 kg, as a replacement for Mark H ...

in a

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

, and again lost by ippon, this time via Ōuchi gari. Krpálek finished seventh overall.

2013–2015

Krpálek entered the new Olympic cycle with a victory at the

Grand Slam Paris The Paris Grand Slam (formerly International Tournament of Paris) is an international, judo competition held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, as part of the IJF World Tour Grand Slam series organized by the IJF. Venues * Sta ...

. Because of that, he received 500 points toward his IJF ranking, and on 13 February 2013, he became world no. 1 for the first time in his career. Soon afterwards he won the

2013 European Judo Championships The 2013 European Judo Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from 25 to 28 April 2013. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Results overview Men –60 kg –66 kg –73 kg –81 kg –90 kg –100 kg +100 kg ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, beating Grol in the final. Later, because of his maturita exams, he missed several Grand Prix tournaments and lost his lead in world rankings. He enrolled at a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, which made him eligible for the 2013 Summer Universiade. There he won both the light heavyweight and open weight competitions. At the

2013 World Judo Championships The 2013 World Judo Championships were held at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 26 August to 1 September. Schedule ''All times are local ( UTC−3).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events R ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

Krpálek was defeated by Grol in the semi-finals, but won a bronze medal after defeating Japanese judoka Takashi Ono. In December he won the Kano Cup in Tokyo. At the beginning of 2014 Krpálek was able to again reach the final of the Judo Grand Slam Paris, where he was defeated by the home judoka Cyrille Maret.

Sportovninoviny.cz. Retrieved 15 October 2016. Soon after Krpálek struggled through a series of minor injuries, yet he won the 2014 European Judo Championships, European Championships. Krpálek went to that year's

in an excellent form. His hardest match came in the semi-finals where he faced Tagir Khaibulaev. Neither of the judokas was able to score, but Khaibulaev accumulated more shidos, and Krpálek went into the final. There he competed against

José Armenteros José Alexis Armenteros Suárez (born 13 December 1992) is a Cuban judoka. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kg event, in which he was eliminated in the third round by Ramadan Darwish Ramadan Darwish ( ar, رمضا� ...

, a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n judoka and surprise of the tournament. In the second half of the match Krpálek won by ippon via Oseakomi waza, winning his first senior world title. Because of health complications he didn't participate in another tournament for the rest of the year. In the first quarter of 2015 he continued to recover from his knee injury. Thus his first tournament that year was the Grand Prix in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

where he came in third. At the end of June Krpálek went to the 2015 European Games in Baku. In the judo competition which that year served as the 2015 European Judo Championships as well, Krpálek lost in the finals to Henk Grol. At the

2015 World Judo Championships The 2015 World Judo Championships were held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 24–30 August 2015. The competition was held at the Alau Ice Palace. Schedule ''All times are local (UTC+6).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's event ...

Krpálek finished fifth.

2016 Olympics

In 2016 he once again participated in Grand Slam Paris, where he lost to the Japanese judoka Aaron Wolf in the second round. In late February Krpálek won the Noris Cup in Prague. Despite a shoulder injury, he decided to take part in

2016 European Judo Championships The 2016 European Judo Championships were held in Kazan, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its in ...

, where he lost to Grigori Minaskin in the first round. At that time Krpálek had been third in the world rankings and thus he had qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Before the opening ceremony he was chosen by his fellow athletes as the flagbearer of the Czech team. Krpálek's Olympic campaign started on 11 August with a match against

Jorge Fonseca Jorge Ivayr Rodrigues da Fonseca (born 30 October 1992) is a Santomean-born Portuguese judoka. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kg event, in which he was eliminated in the second round by Lukáš Krpálek. He won the g ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Fonseca took an early lead after being awarded a yuko, but towards the end of the match Krpálek's physical superiority became apparent. In the last minute he had been awarded a

waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon'' or ''waza-ari'' contest, usually judo, karate or jujutsu. ''Waza-ari'' in judo A ''waza-ari'' is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in judo, the ...

after a successful Sumi gaeshi, and won the match. Krpálek faced the Kazakh judoka

Maxim Rakov Maxim Rakov (born 7 February 1986) is a Kazakhstani judoka. Rakov won the 2009 World Championship in the men's half-heavyweight (−100 kg) division, beating Henk Grol in the final. He won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championship ...

next and won after his opponent was given two shidos. In the quarterfinals he fought against the reigning world champion

Ryunosuke Haga is a male Japanese judoka who became world champion in the under 100 kg division in 2015. His favoured technique is Uchi Mata. Born in Miyazaki, Haga started judo at the age of 5. In 2010, he won the gold medal in the -100 kg weigh ...

of Japan. This match was similar to the previous one and after a careful performance, Krpálek won by a difference of one shido. Cyrille Maret was his opponent for the semi-finals. Throughout the match Krpálek stayed more active and led by one shido. With one minute remained he won by ippon through an Oseakomi waza. In the final Krpálek faced Elmar Gasimov. Both judokas tried to be active, but failed to score. Near the end Krpálek won by ippon via Ōuchi gari and became the Olympic champion. At the victory ceremony he paid tribute to his departed friend, judoka Alexandr Jurečka.

2020 Olympics

Krpálek became the Olympic champion in the heavyweight division.

2022 and Switch Back to Light Heavyweight

In January 2022, Krpalek announced that he would switch back to under 100 kg division (Light Heavyweight) to pursue his third Olympic Gold Medal. This would make him the first judoka in history to win three Olympic gold medals in two different weight classes.

Style

Krpálek has been called an "intelligent beast" by his coach Petr Lacina.Petr Šedivý (30 October 2008
České judo oslavuje inteligentní monstrum: mistra světa Krpálka – iDNES.cz
''Mladá fronta DNES''. Retrieved 15 October 2016. During the match he is able to stay calm and focused even in tense situations. He can force his own fighting style upon opponents and there are very few judokas who can outsmart him in this respect. As a junior Krpálek with his coach practised ground techniques especially, however in the senior category many of his opponents are able to defend against such attacks. Because of this, Krpálek lost some important matches in the beginning of his career, especially the quarterfinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Because of this defeat he focused on standing techniques such as Kumi kata. His signature moves became the

Osoto gari is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the first group, Dai Ikkyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also included in the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. ...

in combination with

Harai goshi is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. It belongs to the second group of the traditional throwing list in the ''Gokyo no waza'' of the Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo, and cla ...

or Uchi mata, yet Sumi gaeshi remained his Tokui waza (favorite personal technique).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krpalek, Lukas 1990 births Czech male judoka Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of the Czech Republic Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in judo Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic European Games silver medalists for the Czech Republic European Games medalists in judo Universiade medalists in judo Sportspeople from Jihlava Living people Universiade gold medalists for the Czech Republic World judo champions Judoka at the 2015 European Games Judoka at the 2019 European Games Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)