He made his first dumbbell himself in a foundry in Pardubice
Stáhnout obrázek
Josef Utíkal was born on July 26, 1941 in Pardubice. Because he lived with his mother and brother on today‘s Palacký Avenue, he experienced the bombing in August 1944 from the immediate vicinity. Before the first grade they moved to Ústí nad Labem for work. But when his mother fell ill with tuberculosis, he and his brother were placed in an orphanage in Česká Lípa. He spent four years there, which he hardly remembers. From a young age he was involved in sports. After primary school he entered a mining apprenticeship near Litvínov. In 1957 he started weightlifting. At the age of only sixteen he achieved five Czechoslovak records. He continued weightlifting until 2017. His achievements include third place at the 1995 European Championships in Vienna. Two years later, he had already won the world championship. Thanks to the sport, he has travelled to many countries. He passed the coaching exams and raised a number of successful athletes. Most of his working life was spent in Semtín in Pardubice. Two daughters were born to him. In 2025 he lived with his wife Vaclava, whom he married in 1964, in Pardubice.
