Michal Desenský from Sokol Hradec Králové finished second behind Choupenitch. Third was sprinter Jiří Polák from Sokol České Budějovice.
“I appreciate the award very much and I am happy. I came to Sokol as a seven-year-old boy, I started fencing there and I still compete for Sokol Brno I today,” said one of the ambassadors of the Sokol organization Choupenitch. The iron trophy of a falcon weighing five kilograms from the sculptor Jakub Flejšar, one of the coaches of the snowboarder Eva Adamczyková, was taken from the hands of the baseball player Martin Mužík, a player of Sokol Hlubok, who participated in the successful performance of the national team at the recent World Baseball Classic.
The 28-year-old Choupenitch followed up a successful Olympic season last year. At the World Championships in Cairo, he missed one shot to reach the precious metal, at the European Championships he finished fifth and with the French club Issy les Moulineaux he won the Fencing Champions League.
| Falcon of 2022: |
|---|
| Individual sports: |
| Adults: |
| 1. Alexander Choupenitch (fencing/Sokol Brno I), |
| 2. Michal Desenský (athletics/Sokol Hradec Králové), |
| 3. Jiří Polák (athletics/Sokol České Budějovice) |
| Category 19 to 23 years: |
| 1. Matěj Mlčoch (match/Sokol Vítkovice). |
| Under 18 category: |
| 1. Alice Vlková (sports gymnastics/Sokol Brno I). |
| Team sports: |
| Adults: |
| Women’s Sokol Hradec Králové (basketball). |
| Youth: |
| Sokol Hradec Králové juniors (basketball) and Jr. juniors Sokol Ostrava (handball). |
| Coach of the Year: |
| Ladislav Včelička (combat sports/Sokol Písek). |
| Alois Hudce’s Fair Play Award: |
| Ondřej Škultety – Sokol Vřesovice (for saving a life during a volleyball match with prompt heart massage). |
| ČOS mayor’s award for extraordinary achievement: |
| Sokol Spořilov (for mass blood donation). |
Ladislav Včelička from combat sports in Písek became the best trainer of the year. Freestyle wrestler Matěj Mlčoch from Vítkovice was declared the best individual in the 19- to 23-year-old category, and sports gymnast Sokol Brno I Alice Vlková was last year’s best athlete under 18 years of age.
Traditionally, the best trainers and educators were also announced. “I am pleased that every year we will announce the most successful athletes and we will also look back at what the all-round trainers have done and what the educators have succeeded in. Sport for all is the basis of our activity, and cultural and educational activities are also an indisputable part,” said the mayor of the Czech municipality of Sokolská Hana Moučková.
The special prize of the mayor of the Czechoslovak People’s Republic of Poland for an extraordinary achievement was awarded to the falcons from Spořilov in Prague for the mass donation of blood as part of the Sokolská kapka krve project. The Aloise Hudce Fair Play Award was received by Ondřej Škultety from Sokol Vřesovice for saving a life by massaging the heart during a volleyball match in Prostějov.