Ivan Summer

* 1962

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The policemen were kicking a pregnant lady there

Ivan Summer traveling in America, 1991
Ivan Summer traveling in America, 1991
photo: Archiv pamětníka

Ivan Summer was born on June 22, 1962 in Český Krumlov. When he was one year old, the family moved to Tábor because of his father’s work, where he lived until adulthood. He was an avid athlete from an early age, first he devoted himself to athletics and then he was fascinated by Greco-Roman matches. Thanks to his athletic talent, he was accepted to a sports gymnasium after primary school without having to pass any entrance exams. After graduation, he wanted to study in Prague at Charles University, but unfortunately that didn’t happen, so he took advantage of the offer of one-year military training for athletes, which took place in Slovakia. After returning from the military service, he found an apartment in Prague and began studying his dream of physical education and coaching at Charles University. He was still involved in Greco-Roman matches, in which he was successful, and since 1983 he has been involved in them in the physical education unit Rudá hvězda under the Sports and Sports Administration of the State Security. Thanks to this, he was able to travel abroad even at that time. In 1989, he participated in protests during Palach Week and was detained by the police. In the end he managed to escape and escaped unpunished by sheer accident. After the revolution, he was still involved in sports and traveled the world. He got married and started teaching physical education and English at the Nad Štolou High School in Prague. At the time of filming in 2022, he lived in Prague.