Zuzana Hejnová (; born 19 December 1986) is a retired Czech

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who specialised in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. She won the silver medal in the event at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Hejnová is a two-time World Champion, having claimed titles at the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

. She won bronze at the 2012 European Championships and silver for the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

at the 2017 European Indoor Championships. At age 16, Hejnová earned the gold medal in her specialist event at the 2003 World Under-18 Championships to take a silver at the 2004 World U20 Championships. She also won bronze and gold at the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and 2005 European U20 Championships respectively. She is a two-time

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

400 m hurdles winner. Hejnová is the Czech record holder for the 400 m hurdles, and also holds national best in the 300 m hurdles. She is a four-time Czech outdoor champion (

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

, 400 m hurdles) and an eight-time national indoor champion (

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, 400 m,

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

). Her sister,

Michaela Michaela (Hebrew מיכאלה) is a female given name. It is a female form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means "Who is like God". As of 2008, it was 357th in rank for newborn girls in the United States, and 325th in England ...

, is also an Olympic athlete.

Junior

In 2003, Zuzana Hejnová competed at the

2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics was the third edition of the international athletics competition for youth (under-18) athletes organised by the IAAF. It was held in Sherbrooke, Canada from the 9–13 July at the Université de Sh ...

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, Canada and won the gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles with a time of 57.54. A year later, she returned at Grosseto, Italy at the 2004 World Junior Championships. This time she won the silver with a time of 57.44 in the 400 m hurdles, defeated by the Russian,

Ekaterina Kostetskaya Yekaterina Aleksandrovna Kostetskaya (russian: Екатерина Александровна Костецкая; born December 31, 1986) is a Russian track athlete. She came fifth in the 800 m final at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, ...

, who won gold by a large margin at 55.55 seconds. Her current personal bests are 14.11 in the 100m achieved at

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

on 3 September 2005; 13.77 in the 100 metres hurdles at Stará Boleslav on 13 June 2003; 53.04 in the 400 m at

Kladno Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000. ...

on 28 June 2008; and 54.90 in the 400 m hurdles recorded at Monaco on 28 July 2009.

Career

2008

In early March 2008 Hejnová competed in the 400 metres at the

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, R ...

and reached the semi finals but did not qualify to reach the final. She did however, reach the final with the Czech relay team in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

in a team which included her, Zuzana Bergrová, Denisa Ščerbová, and Jitka Bartoničková. They finished 4th, with a time of 3:34.53, but were over 5 seconds slower than the Americans who took bronze with a time of 3:29.30. On 21 June 2008, she competed for the Czech Republic at the 2008 European Cup in Athletics. Hejnová competed in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She qualified for the second round with the thirteenth fastest overall time of 55.91 seconds and for the final with 55.17. In the final she finished seventh with 54.97, only one hundredth behind her personal best at the time.

2011

She won the 400 metres hurdles at the

European Team Championships European Team Championships is the name of the team sports competition between European countries organized by various European sports federations. May refer to: * European Athletics Team Championships, former European Team Championships (ETC), ath ...

with a new national record of 53.87 seconds. On 8 July 2011 she improved her national record to 53.29 seconds.

2012

At the

, Hejnová won originally the bronze medal for the women's 400 m hurdles, behind the winner, Russia's

Natalya Antyukh Natalya Nikolayevna Antyukh (russian: Наталья Николаевна Антюх, born 26 June 1981) is a Russian sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres and a silver fo ...

, and

Lashinda Demus Lashinda Demus (born March 10, 1983 in Inglewood, California) is a retired American hurdler who specialized in the 400 meter hurdles, an event in which she was the 2011 world champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, becoming the first woman from ...

of the United States. In 2019, following a re-test of doping samples, Antyukh was disqualified with all her results 2013 onward deleted but her 2012 Olympic results were not affected. In October 2022, Antyukh's results from 15 July 2012 on were retroactively voided. In December, it was announced that she had been stripped of her title and Demus would be upgraded to gold in her place, with Hejnová then second.

2013

Hejnová won

races over 400 m Hurdles in Shanghai (53.79), Eugene (53.70), Oslo (53.60), Paris (53.23 NR), and London (53.07 NR). She also won races in Des Moines (54.41), Prague (54.55) and Ostrava (53.32). She secured maximum points for Czech Republic in the European Team Championships First League in Dublin by winning the 400 m in 51.90 seconds. On 15 August 2013 in Moscow, Hejnová became World Champion over 400 m hurdles with a new Czech record (52.83 NR).

2016

Despite winning her semi-final, Hejnová came fourth in the 400-metre hurdles at the 2016 Olympic Games in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. She threatened to sue

Czech Post 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, ...

for 1 million koruna over the use of her likeness on a

stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

celebrating the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. The Court of Appeal found in favour of Hejnová, leading to Czech Post paying her an undisclosed settlement.

Achievements

All information from

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

profile.

International competitions

Anniversary Games - London (11438583095)

Circuit wins and titles

overall winner 400 m hurdles (2): Diamond blue

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

:: 400 metres hurdles wins, other events specified in parenthesis :*

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

(2): Oslo Bislett Games, Paris Meeting ( ) :*

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

(1):

Monaco Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

() :*

(7):

Shanghai Golden Grand Prix The Diamond League Shanghai is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. From ...

(WL), Eugene Prefontaine Classic (WL), Oslo (SB), Paris (NR),

London Anniversary Games The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Dia ...

(WL NR), Stockholm DN Galan (),

Zürich Weltklasse , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () ...

(4): Paris, London, Stockholm, Zürich :*

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

(3): Rabat Meeting International (SB),

Birmingham Grand Prix The British Grand Prix, formerly known as the Birmingham Grand Prix, is an annual athletics (sport), athletics meeting. Since 2010 it has been a part of the Diamond League series of track and field meets. In 2020 the event was due to be held at ...

(SB), Zürich (SB)

National titles

Czech Athletics Championships The Czech Athletics Championships ( cs, Mistrovství ČR v atletice) is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Czech Athletics Federation, which serves at the national championship for the sport in the Czech Republic. It su ...

: 2006, 2009 **

400 m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once ar ...

: 2018, 2020 * Czech Indoor Athletics Championships **

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

: 2011 **

: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016 **

Pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

: 2007

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hejnova, Zuzana 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Liberec Czech female hurdlers Czech female sprinters 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 Olympic athletes of the Czech Republic Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the Czech Republic World Athletics Championships medalists Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) European Athlete of the Year winners Diamond League winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners