International Play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Czech Republic | ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1998 Nagano | |
| Bronze | 2006 Turin | |
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 1983 West Germany | |
| Bronze | 1987 Vienna | |
| Bronze | 1989 Stockholm | |
| Bronze | 1990 Berne / Fribourg | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Silver | 1982 Minnesota | |
| Silver | 1983 Leningrad | |
| Silver | 1985 Helsinki/Turku | |
Hašek's most memorable international performance came in the 1998 Winter Olympics, where he led the Czech national team to the gold medal. He allowed six goals in total, with only two of them coming in the medal round. Against Team Canada in the semifinals, Hašek stopped Theoren Fleury, Ray Bourque, Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros and Brendan Shanahan in a dramatic shootout win. He then shut out the Russian team 1–0 in the final game, stopping 20 shots. He was later announced as the best goaltender in the Olympics. After he won the gold, he was quoted as saying:
| “ | "When the game ended, I just threw my stick. I was so happy. When I saw the flag go up, I saw my whole career flash before my eyes from the first time my parents took me to a game until now." | ” |
His play made him one of the most popular figures in the Czech Republic, so much so that residents chanted "Hašek to the castle!" in the streets. In response to this, Hašek called the country's president Václav Havel and jokingly told him that his job was not in jeopardy. He also helped to inspire an opera (titled Nagano) about the Czech team's gold medal victory, and in 2003, Petr Pravec and Lenka Šarounová named an asteroid (8217 Dominikhašek) in his honour.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Hašek played for just nine minutes and twenty-five seconds, until he injured his right adductor muscle. Despite his absence, the Czechs managed to earn the bronze medal with backup goaltender Tomáš Vokoun, which Hašek received as well.
Read more about this topic: Dominik Hašek
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