Pavel Kupka

During the 1960s all-round sportsman Pavel Kupka competed for Czechoslovakia in modern pentathlon. Kupka represented Lokomotiva Praha where he focused mainly on the technical side of the sport, excelling in horse riding, fencing, and shooting. In 1966 he finished sixth in the team event at the Junior World Championships before coming fourth in the same discipline a year later. He also competed at the senior World Championships in 1967, where he finished an impressive seventh in the individual competition. This result earned him a place at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, but he came a disappointing 41st out of 48 athletes.

Kupka graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in 1977. One year later he became the assistant coach to the national modern pentathlon team before becoming the head coach at the 1980 Moskva Olympics. As the head coach Kupka introduced new training processes, in addition to including performance rankings for all athletes. There was more focus on achieving a high level in technical disciplines with an extra focus on fencing.