Jan Železný

Jan Železný
Železný in 2015
Personal information
NationalityCzech
Born (1966-06-16) 16 June 1966 (age 57)
Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight86 kg (190 lb; 13.5 st)
Sport
CountryCzechoslovakia (1987–1992)
Czech Republic (1993–2006)
SportTrack and field
EventJavelin throw
Turned pro1986
Retired2006
Now coachingVítězslav Veselý
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsWR 98.48 m (1996)
Updated on 6 July 2012.

Jan Železný (Czech pronunciation: [jan ˈʒɛlɛzniː] ; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of 98.48 metres (323 ft 1 in). Widely considered the greatest javelin thrower of the modern era, he also has the fourth, fifth and sixth best performances of all time. He broke the world record a total of four times.

Biography

Železný was born in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia. He won the silver medal in the 1988 Olympics and the gold medal at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games. He won World Championship titles in 1993, 1995 and 2001.

Železný holds the world record of 98.48 metres (323 ft 1 in), set in 1996, and the World Championships record of 92.80 metres (304 ft 6 in), set in 2001. On 26 March 1997 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, he threw over the 90-metre barrier five times in a single meet. Until September 2020, he was also the only athlete to throw more than 95 metres with the new type of javelin, something he achieved three times.

During his career, Železný had many great battles against the likes of Steve Backley, Sergey Makarov, Boris Henry, Seppo Räty, Raymond Hecht and Aki Parviainen.

Železný planned to retire after the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, where he won the bronze medal with a throw of 85.92 metres (281 ft 11 in). He took leave of his career on 19 September 2006 on exhibition in Mladá Boleslav, the place where he started with athletics.

Železný coaches Vítězslav Veselý and is the former coach of Barbora Špotáková.

Four days after winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, Železný had a tryout as a baseball pitcher with the Atlanta Braves at Fulton County Stadium. Both Železný and the Braves treated the tryout seriously and not as a "publicity stunt" or "sideshow," though Železný had no baseball experience beyond throwing a ball at home with his young son.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Czechoslovakia
1983 European Junior Championships Schwechat, Austria 6th Javelin (old) 71.26 m
1985 European Junior Championships Cottbus, East Germany 4th Javelin (old) 75.10 m
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 18th (q) Javelin 75.90 m
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 3rd Javelin 82.20 m
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 2nd Javelin 84.12 m
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 13th (q) Javelin 77.64 m
1991 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 18th (q) Javelin 76.26 m
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 1st Javelin 89.66 m
Representing the  Czech Republic
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 1st Javelin 85.98 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd Javelin 82.58 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st Javelin 89.58 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 1st Javelin 88.16 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 9th Javelin 82.04 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd Javelin 87.67 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 1st Javelin 90.17 m
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st Javelin 92.80 m
Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 1st Javelin 87.52 m
2002 European Championships Munich, Germany 11th Javelin NM
2003 World Championships Paris, France 4th Javelin 84.09 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 9th Javelin 80.59 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd Javelin 85.92 m

See also


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