Sara Kouskova will make her Olympic debut this week, representing her homeland, Czechia, in Paris 2024.
The 25-year-old, who attended the same US college as the men’s Olympic gold medallist Scottie Scheffler (University of Texas at Austin) is excited to achieve her dream of teeing up in the Olympics, in the company of her caddie, Jakub Mejzlik, a world class field hockey umpire who chose to caddie over officiating in this Olympic Games.
“It’s just unbelievable being here. Seeing the Olympic rings everywhere and realising my dream is amazing.
I think the first couple of days were insane and that’s why I came early, to soak it in and to not get too overwhelmed. I’m starting to settle in a little bit and it’s nice to get back to practise and do what we are here for. It’s really unbelievable and I’m so happy to see everybody here.
The Opening Ceremony was incredible. There was lots of waiting and lots of rain, but it was special to be on the boat with my fellow Czech athletes. We were shouting for the whole one hour ride on the boat. It was funny to see lots of Czech fans scattered around the Seine. When we got to Trocadero we were right next to the big podium and it was special to see the light show. It was still raining, but magical, as the light sparkled thanks to the rain.
We just walked past Nadal in the Village, so that was pretty fun. Jakub shouted “Vamos” and he replied, so that was funny. Seeing the big golf guys here like Scottie (Scheffler) and Tommy (Fleetwood) is special and they are super nice, too. They always acknowledge you and say hi, which is nice. It’s different in the Village and reminds me of college vibes, with all the athletes going to the dining hall together and mingling and going to the weights room. It reminds me of college but on a bigger scale.
We went to see a hockey match and met all of Jakub’s friends from refereeing. The internal Rules don’t allow a person to be in an Officials group and an Athletic group as well, so he had to choose. He didn’t tell me that he’d chosen golf, but he decided on golf back in January. He’s been enjoying the Village but I’m sure he’s missing the whistle. He’s such a personality in hockey and he has a lot of respect among the hockey players, which is really cool to see, but we are here for another sport this time.I don’t really have any expectations at all. Usually, we try to bring the work that we’ve been doing in practise to the competition and we’ve been doing some good work recently, so I really hope it’s going to kick in here.”
