Track spikes Emil Zatopek, a distance runner from Czech Republic, wore them during the 1952 Olympics in Helesinki. The front of the sole features a rigid or semi-rigid spike plate containing between 3 and 9 threaded holes called spike wells. Spikes can be screwed into each well using a spike wrench. Recently, some individuals have attempted to add a "through hole" at the bottom of the spike to make them easier to tighten, remove, and install. Some shoes have permanent or "fixed" spikes which are not meant to be removed. Spikes may break during competition. Track shoes are exceptionally light, some shoes
Emil Holub Emil Holub Emil Holub (7 October 1847 – 21 February 1902) was a Czech physician, explorer, cartographer, and ethnographer in Africa. In a 2005 poll, he was voted #90 of the 100 greatest Czechs. Holub was born in Holice in eastern Bohemia (then within the Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic) in the family of municipal doctor. After studying at German-language grammar school in Žatec (Saaz), he was admitted at Prague University where he obtained a degree as a doctor of medicine (1872). Inspired to visit Africa by the diaries of David Livingstone, Holub travelled to Cape Town, South Africa