Height 1.71 m | Nationality Czech | |
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Awards Sportsperson of the Year Award – Sport Legend Nominations Milliyet Sports Award for World Athlete of the Year Similar Marita Koch, Helena Fibingerová, Florence Griffith Joyner, Caster Semenya, Maria Mutola | ||
Jarmila Kratochvílová ( [ˈjarmɪla ˈkratoxviːlovaː]; born 26 January 1951, in Golčův Jeníkov) is a Czech former track and field athlete. She won the 400 metres and 800 metres at the 1983 World Championships, setting a world record in the 400 m. In 1983, she also set the world record for the 800 metres, which still stands and which is currently the longest-standing individual world record in athletics. Only one athlete, Pamela Jelimo of Kenya, in 2008, has come within a second of Kratochvílová's mark since it was set.
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W800m 1 54 68 1983 world championships helsinki kratochv lov
Biography
In 1983, Kratochvílová broke the 800 m world record with a time of 1:53.28. At the World Championships shortly afterwards, she won the 800 m and set a world record of 47.99 seconds to win the 400 m.
Kratochvílová's 1983 400-metre world record of 47.99 seconds stood for only two years until it was broken by her great rival Marita Koch in 1985. Koch's 400-metre world record of 47.60 seconds still stands as of 2016. Koch and Kratochvílová are the only women who have broken the 48 second barrier in a 400-metre laned race. Her 800-metre world record is the longest standing track record in men or women's athletics, and was described by 1996 Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova as ".. very fast. It's impossible for women to run so fast. It will last for 100 years."
Kratochvílová was a late developer, not breaking 53 seconds for the 400 metres until she was 27, and she was 32 when she set her world records. Kratochvílová's exceptionally rapid race times and her unusually muscular build led to speculation about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Despite these rumors, Kratochvílová has consistently declared her innocence. In 2006, the Prague-based newspaper Mladá fronta DNES reported the discovery of a doping program orchestrated by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. However, there was no evidence connecting Kratochvílová to this scheme, even though she was the most prominent athlete in her country at the time.
Since her retirement Kratochvílová has worked as an athletics coach and with the Czech national team.
