Atletika Magazine being presented with the World Athletics Heritage plaque (© Czech Athletics Federation / Jan Houska)
The Czech Athletics Federation’s quarterly magazine Atletika (1949) has been honoured with the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in the category of ‘Culture’. The announcement is made to coincide with this weekend’s Congress of the Czech Athletics Federation.
Atletika, which is one of the world’s oldest specialised athletics magazines, has visually come a long way since it was first published 76 years ago, from the scrapbook black-and-white to a large full-colour format on glossy paper.
In terms of content, Atletika has moved from being the only source of information about our sport in the Czech Republic to a full-fledged athletics magazine. Written in Czech, it was published monthly for most of its lifetime, and quarterly since 2010, and continues to be printed. Since the end of 2011 it has also been available in a digital version.
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is a location-based recognition, awarded for an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe commented: “Atletika has been consistently relaying results and information since 1949, making it one of the most respected international publications of record for the sport of athletics.
“The award of the World Athletics Plaque to Atletika magazine in the category of Culture reflects and acknowledges decades of diligent work by its editors and writers. They have chronicled the competitions and the lives and training regimes of athletes and their astounding performances, and the coaches and officials which have facilitated them. Atletika has helped to inform, inspire and entertain generations of athletics fans, let alone the athletes themselves.
“Without the knowledgeable support and commitment of specialist publications like Atletika, athletics would be unable to promote itself across the full range of disciplines in a world where general sports media increasingly only has time and space for top-line coverage.
“Congratulations to Atletika for your outstanding contribution to the development of athletics.”
President of the Czech Athletics Federation Libor Varhaník commented: “‘ATLETIKA Magazine’ is an important medium of the athletics movement in the Czech Republic. In its beginnings 76 years ago, it served as a key communication tool, and as our sport and society evolved, our magazine also transformed into a modern medium. In 2025, it still has a print version but readers have been able to read it on their computer, tablet and mobile screens for many years as well.
“We greatly appreciate the Heritage Plaque from World Athletics. It recognises the work of many people who have put their passion for our sport into its creation over the decades. It is currently being prepared by a small team, but at a high level of content and visuals, which is appreciated not only by the Czech Athletics Federation, but also by the athletic public. In this age of rapid communication, we consider the print medium to be a value in itself. The magazine is also exceptional at the level of sports federations in the Czech Republic.”
The plaque will be permanently displayed in the foyer of the new Czech Athletics Federation House.
• Detailed history of Atletika
• Development of Atletika cover design since 1949
• Digital editions since 2008
World Athletics Heritage