Zdeněk Koubek (born Zdena "Zdeňka" Koubková, 8 December 1913 – 12 June 1986) was a track athlete from

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

. He won two medals at the

1934 Women's World Games The 1934 Women's World Games (french: 4è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux) were the fourth edition of the international games for women. The tournament was held between 9–11 August at the White City Stadium in London, United Kingdom.

and several national titles in the 100–800 m running, long jump and high jump, and set a few world records in running events. In 1936, he underwent female to male gender reassignment surgery and retired from athletics. Koubek is one of the earliest recorded

transgender men A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inclu ...

to compete in athletics at the international level.

Biography

Koubek was born in Paskov, in a family of eight siblings. Soon after his birth, the family moved to

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, where he finished school and started training in athletics. Koubek continued his education and training in Prague. In 1934, he won five national titles, in the 100 m, 200 m and 800 m running, high jump and long jump. On 14 June 1934 he set his first world record, in the 800 m at 2:16.4. His next world record came in the medley relay (2×100 m, 200 m and 800 m), at 3:14.4. Later in August, Koubek won the 800 m event at the

, in a world record time of 2:12.4, and finished third in the long jump with a national record of 5.70 m. In 1935, Koubek retired from competitions and for six months toured the United States. The next year, he underwent gender reassignment surgery and changed his name. He abandoned athletics and a potential coaching career, and only after World War II did he join the team of his brother Jaroslav and played rugby for a local club. Koubek spent his later years living with his wife in Prague, where he died aged 72. A 1935 novel ''Zdenin světový rekord'' (''Zdena's world record'') by Lída Merlínová is based on his early life and career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koubkova, Zdena 1913 births 1986 deaths Czech female middle-distance runners Czech long jumpers Intersex men Intersex sportspeople Sex verification in sports Czechoslovak LGBT people LGBT track and field athletes Women's World Games medalists Czech LGBT sportspeople Czech transgender people People from Frýdek-Místek District 20th-century Czech LGBT people Sportspeople from the Moravian-Silesian Region