Members of the Czech Biathlon Union have voted Markéta Davidová as the best Czech biathlete of the 2022/23 season. The twenty-six-year-old blew away the competition with 261 points, beating even the best of the men, Michal Krčmář, who came in second place with 227 points.
Krčmář praised Davidová for her achievements, saying that she was the clear number one and deserved to win. Davidová ranked in the top ten in World Cup events nine times in the past season, and was the only one of her Czech compatriots to be twice awarded a medal.
At a ceremony at Prague’s Karlín Forum on Wednesday evening, Davidová received her award and spoke to Czech Radio. She said that although she was happy to have won, the main draw of the awards event for her was the social aspect.
Davidová also wanted to highlight the achievements of the next generation of Czech biathletes, such as 18-year-old Daniel Malušek, who won gold in the relay at the junior world championships.
Davidová was herself a promising athlete from a young age. After her Olympic premiere in PyeongChang in 2018, she went to the Beijing Olympics four years later in hopes of winning a medal. She almost won gold in the endurance race, but missed the final shot and fell to sixth place. She was also close to winning gold in the mass start, but in the end came in fourth. However, she did become world champion in the endurance race in 2021. With her motto “Be better than yesterday”, there may yet be a gold medal in sight at the next Winter Olympics in 2026.