Interviewer: “Was that the first time you travelled by plane?” – “Yes, of course…” Interviewer: “Were you afraid or what was your experience like?” – “No, we were not the kind of girls to be scared. Besides, you know, when you’re constantly upside down when training you just don’t care on the airplane. It’s fantastic to just sit there comfortable.” Interviewer: “So you stayed in some kind of hotel?” – “St. Helen’s School, which was empty since it was during the summer holidays. St. Helen’s School, I still remember that.” Interviewer: “What was your impression of London?” – “What can I say… Since I was between Luleč and Brno – and Brno already was a big city – I didn’t feel that I was in London that much…” Interviewer: “So London was like Brno?” – “Somewhat bigger!”
“You know, afterwards there were almost no (sports) events. That was so sad… considering that we were Sokol girls everyone was afraid to invite us. It was very sad if you think about it. But we didn’t mind. We had trained, won competitions, medals, so what! You know, the great thing about Sokol was that the elders would always mentor us. Training obviously wasn’t easy. Someone always had to provide security, come up with routines, and so on. So it was always good to have older sisters take care of us.”
“That’s actually the only thing one had left, reading. What else can you do? You can’t train, the body can’t keep up. I have two families and children, otherwise I live a very quiet and nice life.” Interviewer: “So you don’t even exercise in the morning?” – “No, that would feel ridiculous. Once you get out of the routine, that’s it.”
Marie Ďurovičová, née Kovářová, was born on the 11th of May 1927 in a Moravian village called Luleč, near Vyškov. Since a young age, she, her parents Vojtěch Kovář and Marie Kovářová, and even their parents all participated in the Sokol organization. She frequented an elementary school in Luleč and a higher elementary in Vyškov. During her studies at the University of Agriculture in Brno she trained in the local Sokol unit. In 1948 she was picked for a group of gymnasts to represent the republic in the 1948 London Summer Olympic Games where they won gold medals. Her joy was short-lived, however, due to the death of one of the team members, Eliška Misáková. She continued training after returning from London for a while but she started to feel the increasing pressure of the Communist regime against the Sokol organization, which eventually was banned in 1956. She worked in Stavoprojekt in Brno, stopped sports and shifted her focus to work and family. She married Ing. Svetozár Ďurovič with whom she had two children. Marie Ďurovičová passed away on January, 4th, 2023.
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