Zátopek, who passed away in 2000 at the age of 78, was one of the country’s most decorated Olympians and one of the greatest distance runners in history. 

He won the men’s 10,000 metres race and claimed silver over half that distance at the Olympics in London in 1948, representing Czechoslovakia, before he sealed a hat-trick of titles in Helsinki four years later.

Zátopek clinched the 10,000m and 5,000m double and then the marathon on his debut at the distance.

The feat has not been repeated since. 

The ČOV hope Zatopeks presence on its athletes’ sportswear at Rio 2016, the first Olympic Games to be held in South America, will inspire them to achieve their best possible results.

The ČOV will also associate its activities in the Olympic year with Zátopek by educating its competitors about the career the distance runner enjoyed.

“We looked for a personality who in this exceptional Olympic season would encapsulate elite, amateur and unaffiliated athletes; someone with the power to communicate to the general and sporting public,” ČOV President President Jiří Kejval said.

Zátopek, also a three-time European champion, was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal, given to those who exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events or through exceptional service to the Olympic Movement, in December 2000.

Zátopek’s widow Dana Zátopková, the 1952 Olympic javelin gold medallist, was the special guest at a ceremony to unveil the silhouetted image of her late husband. 

“I am so glad that a new generation of Czechs will have the opportunity to learn about Emil’s life and his sporting successes,” she said.