Barbora Špotáková (; born 30 June 1981) is a former Czech

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. She is a two-time Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion, as well as the current world record holder with a throw of 72.28 m.

Career

Špotáková was a heptathlete in her early career, finishing fourth at the 2000 World Junior Championships. She also won the International Combined Events Meeting in Hexham in 2000 before she went on to study in the US and specialise in Javelin throwing. She was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

during her one season at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 2001–02, and won the silver

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

at the 2006 European Championships in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Špotáková improved the Czech national record (previously 66.21 m held by herself since 2006) twice in the final of the 2007 World Championships in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. She took an early lead for 66.40 m in the first attempt and secured the gold medal in the third attempt (67.07 m) before German Christina Obergföll (66.46 m). Špotáková became the seventh woman in the world to reach the 67 m mark. At the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, she won the gold medal, taking the lead with her last throw, 71.42 m, which set a new European record. At the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final on 13 September 2008, Špotáková broke the world record in the first round to win the competition with a throw of 72.28 m. Until the end of the 2010 season she was coached by Rudolf Černý, who led her from a national elite level heptathlete to the

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the Women's Javelin. Prior to the 2011 season it was announced that

Jan Železný Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a IAAF World Championships in Athletics, World and Olympic Games, Olympic champion and holds the Javelin throw#Men, world reco ...

would take over as her coach. At the end of 2010 she won the Czech federation's annual poll for "Athlete of the year" for the fourth year in a row. Then she won it again in 2011, making it five years in a row. She won her second Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Špotáková gave birth to a son in May 2013 and did not compete at the world championships in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

later that year. In 2014, she won the European Championships in

Zürich, Switzerland Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

with a throw of 64.41 m. Špotáková reunited with her former coach Rudolf Černý in 2015 to train for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where she won the bronze medal with a throw of 64.80m. On 9 September 2022 Špotáková announced her retirement from professional sport.

Personal life

Špotáková was born in

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; ) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass and jewelry production, espe ...

, later she moved to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Since 2014, she has been living in Unhošť.

Achievements

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spotakova, Barbora 1981 births Living people Czech female javelin throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for the Czech Republic Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic World Athletics record holders European Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Jablonec nad Nisou Athletes from the Liberec Region World Athletics Championships athletes for the Czech Republic Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female javelin throwers FISU World University Games gold medalists for the Czech Republic World Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners IAAF Continental Cup winners Czech Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Minnesota Golden Gophers women's track and field athletes