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Olympian Frank Příhoda's 100th Birthday Celebrations

On the 8th and 9th of July 2021, celebrations of the 100th birthday of Frank Příhoda took place in Thredbo ski village. Frank was born in Prague and is currently the oldest living person to represent Australia at the Olympics. On the occassion he was presented with the Gratias agit award, an award issued to him by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic for promoting and spreading the good reputation of the Czech Republic in Australia. He also was presented with a commemorative photo booklet created by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Canberra.

The main part of the celebrations took place on Thursday 8th July – tha day of Frank’s 100th birthday – and was attended by over 80 guests, including a representative of the Australian Olympic Committee as well as the General manager of Thredbo Resort, who organised the event in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Canberra.

The event on Thursday night took place at the resort in Kosciuszko conference room, which was decorated with Czech flags and photographs depicting Frank’s life, including his escape from Czechoslovakia in 1949 and his participation in the Winter Olympic Games in Cortina in 1956.

Guests had the chance to taste traditional Czech desserts including ořechové rohlíčky, tvarohové koláčky and rakvičky. Rakvičky are one of Frank’s favourite desserts which he had not had the chance to taste for 40 years. The evening’s program was capped off by fireworks and a flare run performed by the team of ski instructors at Thredbo in honour of Frank’s birthday.

 

Interview with František about his life and emigration here.

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František Příhoda 100 let