Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 22 November 2000) was a Czechoslovak long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life. He was nicknamed the "Czech Locomotive". In 1954, Zátopek was the first runner to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10,000 metres. Three years earlier in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He
Emil Paleček Emil Paleček Emil Paleček (3 October 1930 – 30 October 2018) was a Czech biochemist, who researched how DNA can be used to diagnose genetic diseases. Paleček discovered electrochemistry in nucleic acids, contradicting previous assumptions from the 1950s that DNA molecules were too large to be affected by electrochemistry. Paleček was brought up by his mother, as his father died in a Nazi concentration camp. Aged 13, he went to work as an apprentice at the Bank of Slavia. Paleček had a specific interest in the fact that most proteins contain sugar, as he believed that analysis of this could