Women of the Wheel: Eliska Junková

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Eliska Junková (1900-1994) was a Czech motosport enthusiast and the first woman to win a Grand Prix racing event. She garnered attention for her prowess on the track in what is still a male-dominated sport.

Further Reading:

This month, we're talking about Women of the Wheel – icons who turned motion into momentum and spun their legacies on spokes, skates and potter's wheels. These women harnessed the power of the axle, pushing their crafts and professions forward through their works and lives.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn't help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we'll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:08.4	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
0:13.1	This month we're talking about women of the wheel, icons who turned motion into momentum
0:17.7	and spun their legacies on spokes, skates, and potter's wheels.
0:22.2	These women harness the power of the axle, pushing their crafts and professions forward
0:26.7	through their works and lives.
0:31.3	Today we're talking about an early adopter of motorsport.
0:35.1	As the first woman to ever win a race at a Grand Prix, she was affectionately dubbed
0:39.4	Queen of the Wheel. Please welcome Elisca Juncova. Eliska was born in 1900 in Ulomos, in what is now
0:49.4	the Czech Republic. She grew up interested in travel and foreign languages, excelling at German and English in addition to her native Czech by the age of 16.
0:58.7	These language skills allowed Eliska to find work at a large bank, where she met her husband, Vincent Chenek Juncova.
1:05.5	His success at the bank gave him an extra cushion to explore motorsport, a novel and expensive hobby.
1:13.1	As they fell in love,
1:18.7	Alyska realized she also shared a passion for cars and began to take driving lessons. She obtained her license and by 1920 was riding shotgun as Chennox riding mechanic. At this time, it was very
1:24.6	common for a driver to ride with their mechanic to take care of the automobile's needs while the driver focused on the road.
1:30.3	Aliska and Chenick exclusively drove sleek and elegantly designed Bugatti's.
1:35.3	As they began to ride professionally and secure victories, the racing duo became iconic in Czech High Society.
1:42.3	Around 1925, some races banned riding mechanics, meaning
1:46.6	Chenick and Alyska had to race separately. Aliska began to secure victories on her own with her
1:51.8	elegant and clean driving style that compensated for her lack of physical strength. On the road,
1:57.5	Eliska was immediately recognizable with her blue racing skirt, white blouse, leather helmet, and goggles.
2:03.9	She competed in all forms of racing, including long distance, hill climbs, and circuit racing.
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