The next edition of the popular sports festival FM SPORTFEST 2025 at the Olešná Reservoir attracted a record number of athletes of all ages and once again proved that Frýdek-Místek is truly a city of sport. The extreme triathlon races brought exceptional performances, although organisers had to shorten the opening discipline by half due to unusually cold May conditions.
The main sporting highlight of the weekend was the demanding extreme triathlon GRIZZLYMAN FULL (3.8 km swim, 183 km bike and 42 km run). Due to the cold weather – just 3°C air temperature at the early-morning start and 12°C water – the swim distance was shortened by half in both categories. Even so, 22 athletes took on the challenge, including one woman. The winner was Jan Hradecký, completing the course in 10:26:37. “I have no words. The first 30 kilometres were brutal, but the bike worked for me and the run felt like a gift. Grizzlyman is a beautiful race and the organisers did an amazing job,” said the enthusiastic winner from Příbram, claiming his second victory in the event’s history.
Last year’s winner, David Jílek, finished second with a gap of about thirty minutes. “My Achilles has been giving me trouble, so I tried to break Jan on the bike, but he was really strong. We arrived in transition together, but during the run I had to limp the second half. Still, Jan was flying. I’m happy I finished,” he summed up.
Third place went to the legendary Petr Vabroušek after a tight battle for bronze. “The water wasn’t as biting as I expected, but I was shaking from the cold on the descents from Pustevny. The run was intense – I had to stay focused because the guys behind were pushing. Grizzlyman is a beautiful race. I believe more athletes from the HALF distance will build up the courage to take on the FULL in a year or two,” commented the experienced triathlete.
In the end, 20 athletes completed the extreme GRIZZLYMAN FULL, including the only female participant, Alena Nekulová, who crossed the finish line after 16 hours – a truly admirable and inspiring achievement.
The shorter GRIZZLYMAN HALF saw 67 participants this year, including 8 women – the highest number so far. Last year’s champion, Matěj Múdrik, defended his title with a time of 4:57:41. “The weather was better this year and the water wasn’t so bad. I wanted to defend my win, and I made it. Great race,” he said at the finish.
“When I saw what kind of weather May brought us this year – the cold, snow in the mountains – I had serious doubts whether it would even be possible to hold a fair race in such conditions. And whether people would even show up. But in the end, the weather worked out. I’m very pleased that participation in the shorter triathlon distances doubled compared to last year. Having three previous GRIZZLYMAN champions in one race was also fantastic – it made for a very strong field,” said FM SPORTFEST director Libor Uher.