Synek Becomes Father to Daughter, Gets Military Promotion

This year's world champion in men's single scull, Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic, has become a father for the first time. His little daughter Alice was born on 17 November, the Czech Rowing Association has reported on its website. A sport news emission of the Czech Television announced the same news last evening. Alice's mother is Synek's fiancée, Pavla Bezová. The expected delivery term was 8 November, two days after Synek won his A-final in Karapiro, New Zealand. (Language note: The surname Synek means in Czech “little son”.)

Following the World Rowing Championships, Synek was promoted to the military rank of first lieutenant in recognition of his success. The news was posted on the website of the Czech Ministry of Defence on 10 November and reported in the Czech media. Synek's club is Army Sports Centre Dukla, which traditionally serves as the elite base of the country's national rowing team. Every rower admitted to the sports centre formally becomes a soldier and holds a military rank. Due to this link to armed forces, one SMS congratulation that Synek got after his victorious race in Karapiro came from the Czech Minister of Defence, Alexandr Vondra who had just been inspecting Czech troops stationed in Logar, Afghanistan. “I take Ondřej's result as a fantastic success. Together with the soldiers in Logar, we followed the race and were greatly delighted by the victory. I know how Václav Chalupa had endeavoured for gold for almost twenty years and finally Ondřej Synek snatched it in a boat category that has a great Olympic tradition,” said the minister in the news.

By the birth of Synek's daughter Alice, the names of family membes of both top Czech rowers become peculiarly intertwined: Alice is also the name of Václav Chalupa's wife while Chalupa's younger son is Synek's namesake, Ondřej (an equivalent of the English “Andrew”).