Rudolf Tajcnár - The Elephant
There are not many people in the world with the surname Tajcnár.
The most famous one I dare to say was Rudolf Tajcnár. He was a great Czechoslovak hockey player - a defender, whom people nicknamed “the Elephant” for his powerful figure and shots which he fired at the goal from the blue line. He was my grandfather's cousin from my mother's side.
In addition to becoming the World Hockey Champion in Prague in 1972, he made a splash with the Czechoslovak team at other World Championships and in 1972 brought home a bronze medal from the Winter Olympics in Sapporo.
He was one of the best defenders of his time and together with Milan Kužela they formed a defensive pair that was respected across the hockey world. I never met Rudo. He lived abroad for many years and when he returned to Slovakia, he had serious health problems. When he left for the hockey heaven, I was less than three years old.
I do believe we'll probably have some common genes! He loved adrenaline, ice, skates and a hockey stick and two goals. I love the ice channel and the bobsled rushing down at high speed through the channel on skates (knives). Even though I'm no Elephant, with my height of 181 cm I'm also a big animal - a giraffe. Rudo liked to win and was a tenacious fighter. I believe that I have this quality in me as well..jpg "Rudolf Tajcnar")
