The Hero as Garbageman

Many an athlete, once past his prime, proves unable to hold on to a job or his dignity. Emil Zatopek, 47, Czechoslovakia's four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner for long-distance running, has recently lost one job after another --but not his dignity.

An enthusiastic supporter of Alexander Dubcek and his liberal reforms of 1968, Zatopek has refused to recant. After the Soviet invasion, the lanky athlete repeatedly reaffirmed his loyalty to Dubcek. Before long, he was expelled from the Czechoslovak army (in which he had the rank of colonel), pushed out of his job as an athletic trainer and thrown out of the Communist Party. To support himself and his wife, Zatopek got a position as a well tester on a surveying team. When he was fired from that, too, Zatopek took the lowly job of a garbage collector in Prague.

The regime might not have minded except for one thing. Passers-by not only recognized him but often helped him unload garbage cans to show their support of his defiance. Late last year, he was fired for creating a "public disturbance." For the past few months, Zatopek has been working on a Prague construction crew, installing insulation.

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