Clash of the Clubs IV
Meet the Teams: AK Skoda Plzen

11 September 2025

Club Profile

• Currently Czechia’s largest athletics club, AK Skoda Plzen counts more than 1,400 members and, in line with its focus on the U18 and U20 age groups, approximately 1,100 of these are teenagers or younger.

• Although the present-day name was not used until 1970, the organisation has been in continuous operation since 1894 and it has been registered with country’s national athletics governing body since 1945.

• Perennially successful, the club took over 220 national championship medals in the years 2022 to 2024. Its recent international stars include Jan Stefela, the 2025 European Indoor Championships high jump silver medallist, and Petra Sicakova, the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships javelin silver medallist.

• Sponsored by the train and tram division of the vehicle manufacturer Skoda Group, the club is currently building a unique, state-of-the-art stadium tribune at its home track that includes a roof that can be used by athletes for hill training and is certain to become a viral sensation on social media.

• Website: akskodaplzen.cz

• Social:
  instagram.com/akskoda

DNA History

• AK Skoda Plzen has competed in the A Final at all three editions of the Clash of the Clubs to date. With two podium places (third place in both 2022 and 2024) and a fifth place (2023) the club comes into Leiria with the strongest legacy of any of the participating teams.

• With no less than six members who have taken part in in European Athletics U20 or U18 championships in the last two years it must be considered one of the favourites for this year’s title.

Athletes to Watch

• Fifteen-year-old middle and long-distance specialist Veronika Brizova (instagram.com/brizova.veronika) has run a personal best of 2.16.20 in the 800m and she set a national 5000m U18 best of 16:22.85 in placing 11th at the European Athletics U20 championship in Tampere.

• Kristyna Zahorova, 16 (instagram.com/tynka_zahorova) has a long jump personal best of 6.24m and this year she placed 4th in the event at both the Czech U18 and senior championships. She has also run 11.91 in the 100m.

• Also just 16 years-old, Jakub Marek won this year’s Czech U18 championship 400m, setting a personal best to 47.25, and ran a leg in the 4x400m semi-final for the national team that went on to win the European Athletics U20 championship in Tampere.

• Heptathlete Adela Hanakova, 18 (instagram.com/ada_hanakova), placed 11th in the event at the European Athletics U20 championship in Tampere. Her personal bests for her top two individual disciplines are 1.79m in the high jump and 14.27 in the 100m hurdles.