David Svoboda

Czech modern pentathlete David Svoboda (Czech pronunciation: [ˈdavɪt ˈsvoboda]; born 19 March 1985) is a retired Czech athlete who competed in the modern pentathlon. At the 2012 London Olympics, Svoboda won the gold medal in the Olympic pentathlon. At the 2008 Olympics, Svoboda placed 28th in the pentathlon. David is the twin brother of professional triathlete Tomáš Svoboda. Working in the Czech Olympic Committee Statement on the participation of Russian athletes at the 2024 Olympics On March 29, 2023, he caused outrage and a media storm with his comments on Czech TV on the dispute over the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in connection with Russian aggression in Ukraine. He was invited to an interview on Studio ČT24 as the Czech Olympic Committee Sportsmen's Commission chairman. In his answers, he questioned Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Several personalities criticized his statements, for example, Dominik Hašek, who declared on Twitter that Svoboda supported Russian propaganda and crimes, including the genocide of Ukrainian children, and must bear the consequences for this. Vavřinec Hradilek and Lukáš Rohan, members of