Roman Šebrle (; born 26 November 1974) is a retired decathlete from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He is considered to be one of the best

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

athletes of all time. Originally a

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er, he later switched to the combined events and is a former world record holder in the decathlon. In 2001 in

Götzis Götzis is a town in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The Alpine Rhine valley municipality belongs to the district of Feldkirch. Population Events The town is well known for its annual hypo-combined events meeting, the so-called Hypo ...

he became the first decathlete ever to achieve over 9,000 points, setting the record at 9,026 points, succeeding his compatriot,

Tomáš Dvořák Tomáš Dvořák (), born 11 May 1972 in Gottwaldov (now Zlín), Czechoslovakia, is an athlete from the Czech Republic. He competed in the decathlon and heptathlon for the team ''Dukla Prague''. He is a three-time decathlon ...

, who had scored 8,994 points two years earlier. After placing second in the decathlon during the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, Šebrle won the gold medal in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Tradition dictates the winner of the decathlon holds the title of "World's Greatest Athlete". A panel of experts convened by the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in 2008 also ranked Šebrle as the world's greatest athlete. That very same year, Šebrle finished 6th in the decathlon in the Beijing Olympics.

Private life

Šebrle was born in

Lanškroun Lanškroun (; german: Landskron) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,300 inhabitants. It lies on the border of the historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia. The historic town centre ...

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

. He studied at '' Gymnázium Františka Martina Pelcla'' ( en, František Martin Pelcl Gymnasium) in

Rychnov nad Kněžnou Rychnov nad Kněžnou (; german: Reichenau an der Knieschna) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Adm ...

and at Gymnázium

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

. Then he studied an extension course of

Information Science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...

and

Computer Technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

. (Czech) On 14 October 2000 Šebrle married Eva Kasalová, a former Czech athlete who competed on the track in the

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

and

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 ...

. Their son, Štěpán, was born on 4 September 2002 and their daughter Kateřina on 30 January 2006.

Sporting career

Beginning

When Roman Šebrle was six years old, he started playing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, but also occasionally took part in athletics competitions. In 1987 he broke his calf bone and

shin bone The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

on one leg in a collision with the opponent goalkeeper during a football match. After this incident he had his leg in plaster for 2 months and spent one year learning to walk. He competed in his first decathlon competition in 1991 in

Týniště nad Orlicí Týniště nad Orlicí () is a town in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Křivice, Petrovice, Petrovičky, Rašovice and Štěpán ...

, reaching 5,187 points. Then he met coach Jiří Čechák who convinced him to change school from

to Pardubice, where he joined the Track and Field Club in 1992. He improved his decathlon personal best to 7642 points, although he did just light training.

TJ Dukla Praha

In 1995 he started his two-year compulsory

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

in the Czech Armed Forces. He joined the army sports club

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czech football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in the 1966–67 season, reached the semi ...

and its group of decathletes led by coach Zdeněk Váňa, and has stayed a member since that time. Thus he is still automatically a soldier of the

Czech army The Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky, AČR), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic in compliance with international obligations and treaties on collectiv ...

, although in fact he does not take part in any military operations or, with a few exceptions, in any military training.

Achievements

In 1996 Šebrle achieved a score of over 8,000 points for the first time, reaching 8,210 points at a meeting in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. His first big success came in 1997, when he won the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and came ninth at the World Championships in Athens. In 1999 he was successful at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, where he won bronze in the

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

, and one year later at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Ghent, where he took silver. By the end of the discus discipline at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, after

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Erki Nool Erki Nool (born 25 June 1970, in Võru, Estonia) is an Estonian decathlete and former politician. Life and career Nool grew up in an impoverished environment in the southern part of Võru. His father was a worker in a furniture factory and his ...

was red-flagged three times by the discus judge, it seemed that Roman Šebrle was on course for the gold medal. However, the competition referee overruled the decision and Šebrle finally took silver. In March 2001 he won the first major tournament – the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon – and in May he shocked the world with a new

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 organization ...

of 9,026 points, marking the first time a decathlete has ever broken the illustrious 9,000 point barrier. However, due to an injury he couldn't do himself justice and finished a disappointed 10th in the World Championships in Edmonton. Osaka07 D8A Sebrle Celebrating

Šebrle then left the Váňa's group and started to train with coach

Dalibor Kupka Dalibor may refer to: * Dalibor (name), Slavic surname and masculine given name * ''Dalibor'' (film), a 1956 Czech film * ''Dalibor'' (opera), 1868 opera by Bedřich Smetana, based on the life of Dalibor z Kozojed, the 15th century Czech knight ...

in the same club. In 2002 he won both European Indoor Championships in Vienna and European Championships in Munich. In 2004 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

he finally won the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, reaching 8,893 points and thus beating the 20-year-old Olympic record set by the British decathlete

Daley Thompson Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, (born 30 July 1958), better known as Daley Thompson, is a British former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four tim ...

in the 1984 Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. After the victory in Athens, the Czech minister of defence promoted him to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Šebrle’s best

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

results were gold in 2007 (

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

) and silver in 2003 (

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) and 2005 (

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

). He was also successful at the World Indoor Championships in heptathlon, taking gold in 2001 (Lisbon) and 2004 (

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, beating the European record with 6,438 points), and bronze in 1999 (Maebashi), 2003 (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

) and 2006 (

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

). In 2005 he won the European Indoor Championships in heptathlon (

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

), in 2006 the European Championships in decathlon for the second time (

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

) and in 2007 he got his third European indoor gold (

). The sum of his personal bests in individual disciplines is 9,326 points (the third ever best after

Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O'Br ...

and Mike Smith). He is the only decathlete who finished 40 decathlon competitions with the score over 8,000 points and 20 competitions with the score over 8,500 points (). Šebrle was also voted the Best Czech Athlete of the Year five times in a row (2002–2006), and in 2004 he received the title of the Czech Sportsman of the Year. In 2002 he received the Guth-Jarkovský Trophy for his world record, which is awarded by the

Czech Olympic Committee The Czech Olympic Committee ( cs, Český olympijský výbor) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing the Czech Republic. History The Czech Olympic Committee is one of the oldest NOCs in the world, having been founded in 1899 as Bo ...

for the best performance by a Czech athlete achieved during the previous year.

Javelin injury

On 22 January 2007, Šebrle was hurt by a javelin thrown by a South African female javelin thrower,

Sunette Viljoen Sunette Stella Viljoen (born 6 October 1983) is a South African sportswoman who has represented her country in both cricket and athletics. In athletics, she competes as a javelin thrower and has won an Olympic silver medal ( in 2016) and two Com ...

, from a distance of 55 metres while training in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The javelin pierced the edge of his right shoulder from the front, 12 cm deep. Shocked, Šebrle ripped the javelin out immediately, which could have caused even more damage. It did not cause any serious injury however, because it slipped between a muscle and his skin. He was taken to a hospital, but left soon with just eleven stitches. However, he was limited in training for some time, especially in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. Later he stated that he was only 20 cm away from being killed and 1 cm from an injury that would have ended his career. (includes photo, text in Czech)

Personal bests

List of results

References

External links

* * * * *
Roman Šebrle
- profile at Czech.cz

n°8 on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch" {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebrle, Roman 1974 births Living people People from Lanškroun Czech decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics 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 Olympic athletes of the Czech Republic Olympic gold medalists for the Czech Republic Olympic silver medalists for the Czech Republic Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) World record setters in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for the Czech Republic World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Czech television presenters Czech male athletes Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from the Pardubice Region