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Inside Hokie Sports
Virginia Tech’s
“Enter Sandman”
experience
seems to leave a lasting impression on everyone, even
those
who know nothing about the sport of football—even
those who come from foreign places.
After all, who could really forget such a scene? As the opening riff
starts, thousands of people start yelling and jumping up and down,
reaching a crescendo to welcome the football team onto its home field.
Irena Sediva knew nothing of such things. She knew nothing about
football, or Tech’s famous pregame ritual. But when the women’s track
and field standout ventured from Europe to Blacksburg for her college
education, she quickly received the details on Tech’s legendary Saturday
afternoon fall tradition.
Her teammates invited her to go to a game, and Sediva, with her
engaging personality and overall love of people, was down.
And quickly hooked.
“I’m not that big of a fan of the game, but I love the experience,” she
said. “I like the fans going crazy for football, and all the action going on
around it.
“I love getting to know new cultures, and going to a football game is
probably the biggest piece of American culture that you can get. I know
less than you guys do, but I’m not lost when I watch it.”
So over the past few years, she performed her fair share of jumping,
blending in perfectly with Tech’s diverse student population. Yet
truthfully, Tech fans should have jumped over
her
exploits.
Sediva, a native of the Czech Republic, concluded her collegiate
career by winning the national championship in the javelin throw at
the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Eugene,
Oregon, in early June. That performance came two years after she won
the school’s first national championship in the javelin throw, and with
her latest accomplishment, she became just the second Tech female to
win at least two national championships, joining Queen Harrison, who
won three in 2010.
During her career, Sediva dominated her event like no other at Tech
or in the ACC. She holds the school record, the ACC record and the ACC
Championships meet record. At Tech, she owns the school mark by
more than 10 meters.
Irena
Sediva
loved volleyball as a kid
in her native Czech Republic, but a
switch to throwing the javelin resulted in her
getting a college education from Virginia Tech and loving
the Hokie experience—while also winning
two national championships
by
Jimmy Robertson
Yet remembering Sediva for simply how far she tosses a track
implement does her a disservice. Those around her speak highly of her
not just because of her athletics abilities, but also because … well, she’s
just so darn likeable.
“She’s upbeat and likes to joke around and cause trouble—all that
good stuff,” said Tech throws coach Greg Jack, whose athletes have won
13 of the 16 individual national crowns claimed by the Hokies’ track and
field programs. “She’s a handful sometimes, but sometimes, you look the
other way when that stuff goes on for a girl of her level.”
Tech’s coaches and current team members almost did not get to
experience both her charming disposition and athletics greatness. She
played a lot of sports as a child in Pribram, her hometown and a small city
roughly 40 miles from Prague, the nation’s capital. The list included judo
and soccer, and her mom actually wanted her to pursue chess.
“I tried for a year. It wasn’t my thing,” she said, with a smile. “It was
painful, sitting by a table and just thinking.”
She channeled her energies into volleyball, which became her passion.
A persuasive uncle got her into distance running, but she contemplated
giving up running to focus on volleyball. Her track and field coach at the
time ultimately convinced her to stick with that sport, and because of her
athleticism, saw potential in her for throwing the javelin—which led to a
total reversal of fortunes.
“He started coming to my hometown and started throwing the javelin
with me at least once a week,” Sediva said. “Thanks to that, I won Czech
nationals, and I decided to quit volleyball and continue with the javelin.”
Sediva drew inspiration from Barbora Spotakova, a Czech native and
two-time Olympic gold medalist who set the world record—and still
holds it—roughly around the time in which Sediva started her journey
with the javelin. Spotakova’s coach once saw Sediva throw and invited her
to come practice with them.
That led to Sediva moving to Prague to practice with Spotakova, with
every day affording her an opportunity to get better at her craft.
“She was a big role model for me, and thanks to her, I was able to see
WITH
THE