Jaroslav Klimes aims for elusive Worlds title on home soil    

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When the Para Trap World Championships takes place in Brno, Czechia, this September, many athletes will arrive with a mix of pride and the weight of expectations.

Czech Republic’s Jaroslav Klimes will be one among them. 

The Granada 2024 PT1 bronze medallist is the host nation’s biggest medal hope, with his Para trap journey starting in the city six years ago. 

In these past years, Klimes has gone from aiming for prey in the woods to hunting glory on the sport’s world stage.

Back then, Para Trap was only beginning to take shape in Czechia, and Klimes was more interested in aiming for prey in the woods than chasing glory on the sporting stage. But that all changed after he attended a demonstration event in Brno — a moment that sparked his journey into the sport.

“Looking back today, it was quite amusing,” Klimes said. “I had been a hunter before that, so I already had a close connection to firearms and shooting.”

The decision marked the start of a new sporting chapter for the 43-year-old, who had previously competed internationally in Para athletics, throwing shot put, javelin and discus in the F56 class.

With Para trap, he saw a chance to take his sporting career to the global stage.

“I didn’t have the performance level to compete internationally in Para athletics,” Klimes said.

“But I already had experience of shooting clay targets when I was able-bodied, and it’s such an action-packed discipline.”

 

Building on firm foundations

Following in the footsteps of his father, Klimes began hunting in the Czech woods at the age of 23. 

“I mostly hunted common game found in the Czech Republic — roe deer, wild boar, hares, and ducks. I hunted in the foothills of the Jeseniky Mountains, often with my brother,” he said.

“What I enjoyed most about hunting was the patience it requires and the connection with nature. Many times, I would go into the forest just to see wildlife.”

Apart from learning how to aim and handle a gun, Klimes said his hobby has “improved his patience and breathing”— qualities that have proven vital in high-pressure situations.

He continues to compete in shot put at the national level and believes that his background in athletics has given him a strong advantage — particularly in developing discipline. 

“I was already used to regular training and had physical strength,” he said.
But when it comes to his quick progress in Para trap, Klimes, credits his strong commitment before anything else.

“I put more into it than others,” he said. “I train two to three times a week and have a coach (Petr Hrdlicka, CZE) who is a 1992 Olympic trap shooting champion. He has taught me patience and helped me get rid of some bad shooting habits,” he said.

“The key to success in Para trap shooting is simple — training, competitions, training, competitions, over and over again – and realising you are only competing against yourself.”

In the middle of the Pandemic, in 2021, Klimes started to compete internationally in Para trap. Three years later, he made history winning Czechia’s first world championship medal.

Jaroslav Klimes, who took the bronze at Granada 2024 Worlds, says the real challenge isn’t the competition — it’s pushing himself beyond limits to claim that
elusive gold.

Taking it to the next level

Alongside his own development over the past four years, Klimes has seen the discipline (that joined World Shooting Para Sport in 2018) evolve in his home country.

“Everything has changed – from the equipment to the organisation, which is now at a professional level. We now have professional management,” he said.

Staging the seventh edition of the Para Trap World Championships, the Olympic Shotgun Skeet and Trap Brno Shooting Range has been a familiar venue on the World Shooting Para Sport Grand Prix circuit since 2020.

The event, that kicks off with a pre-event training on 12 September followed by two intense competition days, will be the first major WSPS championships to take place in Czechia.

With a chance to claim his country’s first world title, in front of friends and family on home soil, Klimes aims to make the event a special one.

“For any athlete, it’s a great honour when such a big competition is held in their home country,” he said, keen to improve the colour of his 2024 bronze.

“I’m committed to deliver the best possible performance. I don’t just go to take part – my goals are the highest.”

 

Turning bronze into gold

At the previous edition of the competition, held in Spain’s Granada in June last year, home star Pedro Gomez Albendea had the chance to celebrate his PT1 Mixed Trap Seated SG-S gold with his home supporters. 

Albendea clinched the title on 33 points, defeating Germany’s Thomas Hoefs (27). 

Klimes, who completed the podium on 25, says the real challenge isn’t the competition — it’s pushing himself beyond limits to claim that elusive gold. 

“Any athlete can deliver an outstanding performance, so I don’t have a specific rival,” he said.

Preparing for one of the biggest competitions of his life, Klimes has found inspiration in David Kostelecky, the two-time Olympic trap medallist from Czechia who is also the ambassador for the World Championships. 

Klimes has known the 50-year-old Beijing 2008 champion, who also has a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, since he started playing the sport.

“David is a huge sporting icon in trap shooting, and yet he is very humble. Our first meeting left me with a lot of positive energy,” he said.

“From him (Kostelecky), we can learn a lot about humility towards the sport and he, in turn, gets a better understanding of us (seated shooters).”

 


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