The fight for the bronze medal at the Winter Olympic Games did not end happily for Slovakia. Slovak hockey players did not defend their bronze medals from Beijing four years ago at the 2026 Olympics. In the duel on Saturday (February 21) for third place at the Olympic tournament in Milan, they lost to Finland 1:6.
The Slovaks also finished in fourth place at the Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver, when they lost to the Finns (3:5). This position is the best for the Slovak team in Milan, but for the first time since the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City 2002, it did not win a single valuable metal at the Games.
Although the unsuccessful match disappointed the hockey players themselves the most, Slovaks and well-known faces sent thanks to our representatives via social networks. No one can be proud of becoming the fourth best team at the Olympics.
Moderator Zlatica Švajdová Puškárová also sent a public message to Slovak Manšaft, who knows very well what this tough sport entails. Her older son Leonard (16) will star in a prestigious hockey club in Sweden from September 2025. Back in January of that year, she shared a picture of how she was driving her son to Nitra for morning training in the early hours of the morning.
After the Olympics, she thanked the Slovak hockey players for their performances. “Thank you guys, you have become the heroes of a small country with big dreams. Instead of having nothing, you have everything thanks to your talent. It always hurts when you are so close, but for us you are touching something big. You won a medal with a much greater value of determination, fighting spirit, cohesion and pride. Once again, Slovakia has role models in discipline, success, hard work and true leadership,” she named the qualities that are key in this sport.
In sports, people have to cope even with losses. “In sports, it’s just that you lose a million times and there are only a few wins. But the road to them is infinitely long and the moment lasts only a moment. In the background there is a constant pressure to improve, to always start from scratch, the result is affected by a lot of details and endless expectations. And in that epicenter there is still a person of flesh and bones, often sore, tired, under pressure, who also wants to live his personal story,” she recalled.
In the vast majority of cases, the whole family lives by sports. “From an early age, the whole family is involved in the game, parents without skates, but with concerns, fear and desire towards their own children. As a mother of a hockey player, I know very well how much sacrifice, effort, but also beautiful moments the sport brings. Never allow cheap “criticism from the couch”, continue to pursue your/our dreams, enjoy your mastery of those close to you and far away. We are infinitely proud of you and thank you,” added Puskárová on the social network.
