Emil Zatopek and Dana Zatopkova, two athletes who made history at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, are honored by Google with today’s doodle.

Androgyn was born on the same day, September 19, 1922.

Emil Zatopek is the only athlete to win gold in the 5000m, 10000m and marathon at the same Olympics, breaking the Olympic record in all three events in eight days. They say that he decided to take part in the marathon literally at the last moment.

He was also the first athlete to “break” the 29-minute mark for 10,000 meters in 1954, while three years earlier (1951) he broke the 1 hour mark for a distance of 20 km.

At the same 1952 Games, his wife Dana Zatopkova won the gold medal in the javelin throw minutes after he won the gold in the 5000m. The double androgynous victory occurred on July 24, 1952.

Zatopkova was also European champion in 1954 and 1958. In her last year, at the age of 35, she became the oldest athlete to “break” the world record on the open track, throwing a javelin at 55.73 meters.

How did they meet

Emil worked in a shoe factory as a teenager. There he was offered to participate in a local race, where he took second place out of a hundred participants.

While serving in the Czech Army, he trained at night by running in rubber boots while holding his breath to expand his lung capacity. He first came to international attention in 1946 when he cycled from Prague to Berlin to take part in the 5000m race, in which he came first.

Dana grew up in Karvina, Czech Republic. Before taking up javelin throwing, she was a talented handball player.

Rumor has it that he reached 34 meters the first time he tried it. She later became the first woman in the Czech Republic to throw a javelin over 40 meters and qualified for the 1948 Olympics.

Emil met Dana when she qualified for the Olympics. They immediately bonded over their shared birthdays, and they began a relationship soon after. They traveled together to the 1948 London Olympics, where Emil won gold in the 10,000 meters and Dana placed seventh in the javelin. Shortly thereafter, the couple got married.