From the field to the Olympics
Květa Jeriová, née Pecková, was born on October 10, 1956 in Jilemnice into a family of private farmers in Zálesní Lhota. She has been helping her parents since she was a child, so she refused offers to join the skiing sports club due to lack of time. It was only after the death of her father and the entry of the family into the collective farm that she became a member of Sokol Studenec at the age of 14 and participated in the youth championships of the republic and became a member of the representing junior national team. Between 1974 and 1984, she belonged to the Czechoslovak national team in classic skiing. At the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, she won two bronze and one silver medal, and has also won a bronze medal at the World Championships. She graduated from the Faculty of Education in Hradec Králové and worked as a teacher for twenty years. She met her future husband, rower Zdeněk Pecka, thanks to an interview for Stadion magazine. They raised two daughters together. She is a member of the Czech Olympic Committee.