Jan Železný

Jan Železný
Personal information
Nationality Czech
Born (1966-06-16) 16 June 1966
Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 87.778 kg (193.52 lb; 13.8227 st)
Sport
Sport Track and field
Event(s) Javelin Throw
Turned pro 1986
Retired 2006
Now coaching Vítězslav Veselý
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) WR 98.48 (Jena 1996)
Updated on 6 July 2012.

Jan Železný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ʒɛlɛzniː]) (born 16 June 1966) is a Czech javelin thrower, world and Olympic champion and world record holder. He holds the top five javelin performances of all time.[1]

Biography

Železný was born in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia. He won the gold at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games and silver in the 1988 Olympics as well as three World Championship titles; in 1993, 1995 and 2001. Because of his achievements he is widely considered to be the all-time greatest javelin thrower.

Železný holds the world record, at 98.48 metres (323 ft 1 in) set in 1996, and the World Championships record of 92.80 m, set in 2001. As of 4 August 2013, Železný has made 53 of the total 99 throws over 90 meters, while second place on the list is shared by Andreas Thorkildsen and Aki Parviainen by eight throws over 90 meters each. On 26 March 1997 in Stellenbosch, South Africa Železný threw 5 times over the 90m barrier in a single meeting. Železný is also the only athlete to throw more than 94 meters with the new type of javelin, something he achieved five times.[1]

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

He planned to retire after the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, where he won the bronze with a throw of 85.92 m. He took leave of his career on 19 September 2006 on exhibition in Mladá Boleslav, the place where he started with athletics.

He will continue working for the IOC and as a coach in Prague. He coaches Vítězslav Veselý,[2] and he used to coach Barbora Špotáková.[3]

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

References

Records
Preceded by
Steve Backley
Men's javelin world record holder
6 April 1993 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Robert Změlík
Dominik Hašek
Tomáš Dvořák
Czech Athlete of the Year
1993
1995
2000, 2011
Succeeded by
Dominik Hašek
Martin Doktor
Aleš Valenta
Preceded by
Jonathan Edwards
Tomáš Dvořák
Men's European Athlete of the Year
1996
2000
Succeeded by
Wilson Kipketer
André Bucher
Preceded by
Michael Johnson
IAAF World Athlete of the Year
2000
Succeeded by
Hicham El Guerrouj
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