Ondřej Synek
Ondřej Synek is a Czech rower. He is a five-times World Champion in Single Sculls, winning in the 2010 World Rowing Championships, 2013 World Rowing Championships, 2014 World Rowing Championships, 2015 World Rowing Championships and 2017 World Rowing Championships. He won Olympic silver medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In Beijing he came in as the chief rival of Mahé Drysdale, but despite Drysdale coming down with a painful stomach flu and falling in the final stages of the final to bronze, he was upset for the gold by defending Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte, who Synek had regularly been beating the previous couple years. In London he came in co favored for gold with Drysdale after trading gold and silver at the previous 2 World Championships, but fell short to Drysdale in the final.
In Rio after having won 3 straight World Championships since London, he came in as the clear favorite and had a stated desire to badly want the Olympic Gold he narrowly missed in both Beijing and Rio his quest for Olympic Gold failed for a 3rd consecutive time in Rio as he took bronze in the single sculls behind both Drysdale and the surprising Damir Martin. As a 5 time World Champion in single sculls, and with a total of 13 World and Olympic single scull medals he is by far the most successful single sculler in history to not yet have an Olympic Gold. He confirmed after his Rio defeat to want to take a likely final attempt at the elusive Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020.
