Pavel Maslak is back in training as he prepares to defend his 400m title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March - in front of his home fans in Prague.
From the depths of despair of a summer where he was set to be one of the stars of the European Athletics Championships in Zurich before injury struck, Maslak is now ready to make up for lost time.On Wednesday, the Czech Republic runner was talking in Prague about his plans, which include the Ostrava Golden Spike on 26 May and by then he might be in the proud position of being European Indoor champion for a second time.
Maslak, 23, said: 'I am back in training, with since already two weeks. Yes, I am going fully for indoors.'Speaking on praha2015.org, he added: 'If I manage to win gold again in front of the home crowd, it would be really great.
'I do not even have one ticket but I hope I will manage to get my parents there to watch. I believe that I will buy some tickets also for my friends. It would be a nice Christmas present for them.'The hamstring injury he suffered this May brought a halt to his amazing run of success which had begun at the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 2012 when he won the 400m crown in 45.25.
The following winter he banked his first indoor gold with victory in the European Championships in Gothenburg in 45.66, a national record time.Twelve months on brought him to March this year when he lowered his national record as he took gold at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 45.25, a performance which put him in pole position for another summer of glory.
But even after attempting to comeback in July, he was not ready for the European Athletics Championships a month later.Prague could be a different story for an athlete who has such control over the two laps indoors, combining his power early on with his speed at the finish.
It will be some Saturday night in the 02 Arena in Prague – start time 7.30pm for the 400m – if Maslak is there in the form he will hope to be in.