Ondrej Synek, the "smiling assassin"

by Martin Cross

“He looks like a mean bastard. But he’s the sweetest person you could ever imagine. He always smiles. I’ve never seen him angry. He would give away his pants if you needed them.”  Olaf Tufte’s appreciation of his great friend and rival, Ondrej Synek’s character pays tribute to one of the nicest, most competitive and iconic scullers in the world.

Synek was one of that incredible ‘band of brothers’ who dominated single sculling from 2005-2016. Among them: Tufte, Cop, Drysdale, Karonen, Campbell, Hacker. Their friendships deepened when they jumped in an eight in 2009 and beat the world on the Thames and on the Charles in Boston. The fact that Synek has become the 4th member of that group to receive the Thomas Keller medal speaks volumes about their impact.

The love and respect those great scullers had for Synek was demonstrated in 2022 at the World Championships in Racice, where five of his friends and rivals did the 39-year-old sculler the great accolade of travelling to the Czech Republic for a 500m race to honour Synek’s retirement. You can watch the race here.

On that occasion, Synek recalled one of his favourite contests. It was during the Holland Beker in 2011. “There was one special where we raced neck and neck with Mahe at the Holland Bekker the biggest gap between us was just one and a half metres.” Explained Synek. The Czech won that race by just 0.3 of a second. You can watch it here.

Tufte recalled the quality of his friend’s racing pedigree that allowed Synek to win races like that: “Ondrej was a fearless racer. He was one of the few who could sprint. And not only that, but he could also keep a high speed through the race.” The 198 cm athlete had a natural reach, beautifully loose shoulders and a dynamic drive that moved the boat at lightning speed.

Of Synek’s five – yes five! world titles in the single, one that stands out is another race between him and Drysdale , in 2015 at the  Aigubilette world championships. Synek had kept a low profile through the season, coming 4th and 5th at world cups. He even finished 2nd in the semi-final against Lithuania’s Griskonis. But in the final Synek flew though the middle ‘k’ to try and blunt Drysdale’s speed. It came down to the sprint for the line, and the Czech took gold by just 0.34 seconds. You can watch that amazing race here.

In fact, that win was one of Synek’s four straight world championship titles between 2013 and 2017.  Of course, the one title that was missing from Synek’s palmarès was the Olympic singles title. He finished 2nd to Tufte in Beijing. The Czech almost outsprinted the Norwegian and came in just ½ length behind his friend.

In London, it was silver again, by just one length, this time behind Drysdale. And in that Race in Rio, it was Synek who took bronze behind the kiwi Drysdale and Croatia’s Martin.

In all of this, Synek showed the most gracious sportsmanship. He acknowledged his rivals, expressed his happiness and explained that he wanted gold. “I’m very happy but I wanted gold as everybody here. You can see guys here who are very tired…I told Mahe someone collect gold, someone silver. It’s my second silver.” Explained Synek with that perennial smile on his face after the London final.

Through this Synek became both a husband and a father. He acknowledged that without the support of his family, he could not have rowed for so long. Towards the end of his career In 2018, Synek talked of his relationship with his two children: Alica and Matyáš “My lifestyle is completely different – my kids have started to go to school and started to do some sports.  So sometimes I feel I’m more like a taxi driver than a rower.” He also found the time to pick up a Masters Diploma in Masters rowers health.

Unsurprisingly, Synek has been at the forefront of inovation in training techniques that integrated biomechanics, psychology, and nutrition. He has, like many of his contemporaries had to deal with injuries and illness and done so with equanimity. His influence on both world and Czech rowing has been immense. Many young rowers, unsurprisingly, have acknowleged Synek as their role model and inspiration.

So many have seen him race. His international career begun in 2000 at the Junior championships and ended – prematurely – in 2021 when he was forced to miss the Tokyo Olympics due to Covid. Barring the pandemic year of 2020, Synek never took a year out – 20 years in the sport! And in those 20 years, Synek appeared in over 40 World Cup A finals and 14 World Championship A finals!  His best season was perhaps in 2010. He remained unbeaten and headed Drysdale for the world title on the kiwi’s home water of Lake Karapiro.

Those duels had such an impact on the sport. Look no further than to Oli Zeidler, the reigning Olympic champion in men’s single sculls. “For me he is the incarnation of sportsmanship. Since I started rowing I looked up to him and watched the races between Mahe and him again and again, which were epic and great for the attention for rowing.” Explained the German.

And Zeidler went on to talk about his first ever race on the world stage. “In 2018 I had the unbelievable chance to race in my first World Cup final in Belgrade against him, one of my biggest role models. I will never forget the moment after the race when he congratulated me and welcomed me into the circle of single scullers.”

Ondrej Synek is the natural choice to receive the 2025 Thomas Keller medal.