Jaroslava Jehličková (born 24 March 1942) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

former

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

for

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. She was the first ever international champion in the women's

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, winning the gold at the

1969 European Athletics Championships The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

in a world record time of 4:10.77 minutes. She competed twice at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

(1968 and 1972). During her career, she set personal bests of 2:04.7 for the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and 4:08.39 for the 1500 m.

Career

Born in

Hořice Hořice (, also known as Hořice v Podkrkonoší; german: Horschitz) is a town in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,600 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Březovice, Chlum, Chvalina, ...

, Jehličková established herself at national level in the mid-1960s in the 800 m, which was then the longest distance regularly by women. She won the Czechoslovak Athletics Championships in 1966, then again in 1968. This earned her her debut at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where she was a semi-finalist.Jaroslava Jehličková
. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-12-19. The longer 1500 m was introduced as a championship event for the

—the first time the women's race was incorporated at a major international event—and it began to be contested more widely. Jehličková became the first Czechoslovak national champion in the 1500 m, and she also defended her 800 m title. The 1500 m world record holder

Paola Pigni Paola Pigni (30 December 1945 – 11 June 2021) was an Italian middle- and long-distance runner. She was a three-time world champion in cross country and held the world record over five distance running events on the track, from 1500m to 10,00 ...

was among the favourites for the 1969 European title, but it was Jehličková that triumphed, breaking the world record in the process with a time of 4:10.77 minutes for the gold medal. This made her the world's first international women's champion in the 1500 m.Records Progression - World Records Women 1500 m
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-12-19.
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-12-19. She did not compete in the 1970 season, but returned in 1971 to repeat her middle-distance double at the national championships. She attempted to defend her 1500 m title at the

1971 European Athletics Championships The 10th (X) European Athletics Championships were held from 10 August to 15 August 1971 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results ...

, but could not compete to the same standard and finished seventh.

Karin Burneleit Karin Krebs ( Burneleit, born 18 August 1943) is a retired East Germany, East German middle-distance runner. She won the 800 metres race at the 1968 European Indoor Games, but failed to reach the 800 m Olympic final the same year. She then focus ...

won the race and also improved Jehličková's world record by over a second in the process. Jehličková's final year of competition at a high level was in 1972. She won her last national title in the 1500 m, bringing her total over both middle-distance events to seven national titles overall. She achieved personal bests of 2:04.7 minutes for the 800 m and 4:08.39 minutes for the 1500 m that year. Her last major appearance came at the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. She proved to be a spent force, finishing a distant last in her 1500 m semi-final. She ranked twelfth in the world on time for that season.Jaroslava Jehlickova
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-12-19.

National titles

* Czechoslovak Athletics Championships **800 m: 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971Czechoslovak Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-12-19. **1500 m: 1969, 1971, 1972

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jehlickova, Jaroslava Living people 1942 births People from Hořice Czechoslovak female middle-distance runners Czech female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Czechoslovakia Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists World record setters in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from the Hradec Králové Region

Career

National titles

International competitions

See also

References