Anton Tkáč

Who is Anton Tkáč?

Anton Tkáč is a retired track cyclist from Slovakia, who claimed the gold medal for Czechoslovakia in the men's Match Sprint event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada when in the final he defeated eight time World Champion Frenchman Daniel Morelon. In this discipline he also won three World Champion titles: in 1974 in Montreal, in 1976 in Ostuni, Italy, and in 1978 in Munich, Germany.

Tkac started cycling in the 1 km time trial discipline. The most successful Czechoslovak sprint cyclist was originally in sports school in the capital city of Bratislava where he focused in athletics and mainly ran sprints. The 1 km time trial came by accident when, on a borrowed bike, he won the race in the recruitment city suburb. Soon he was recruited by Slovan Bratislava cycling club where he rode and trained on the track in the 1 km time trial discipline. Despite severe injuries he soon convinced his abilities after winning numerous national championships and in 1969 he was nominated for the World Championships, held in Brno, Czechoslovakia. After achieving the eighth place at his first World Championship, it was very disappointing for him and the inherent stubbornness threw himself into hard training and preparing for another world championship. The following year at the 1970 World Championship in Leicester, England he has already stood on the podium, with bronze medal, while the silver medal escaped from him by astonishing 0.02 seconds.