Gabriela Sedláková (born 2 March 1968) is a former

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competed in 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 ...

. She was the silver medallist in that event at the

1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 1st IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in Indianapolis, United States from March 6 to March 8, 1987. The championship had previously been known as the World Indoor Games, which were held once before changing the name. Being ...

. Earlier she had been European junior champion and World junior runner-up. Sedláková represented Czechoslovakia at the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...

and

1986 European Athletics Championships The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion, now known as Mercedes-Benz Arena, in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. ...

. She was twice a finalist at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Her 800 m bests of 1:58.37 minutes outdoors and 2:01.85 minutes indoors remain the

Slovak records Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

for the distance. She was a seven-time Czechoslovak national champion.

Career

Born in

Topoľčany Topoľčany (; sk, Veľké Topoľčany before 1920; hu, Nagytapolcsány) is a town in the Nitra Region of Slovakia. The population is around 25,000 in total. The town's population is nicknamed ''Žochári'' (singl. ''Žochár'') (producers, or o ...

(now in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

), she emerged as a teenager at the

1985 European Athletics Junior Championships The 1985 European Athletics Junior Championships was the eighth edition of the biennial athletics competition for European athletes aged under twenty. It was held in Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a un ...

, where she shared in the 800 m title with Maria Pintea – the pair ended the race in a dead heat of 2:03.22 minutes. A second international medal followed at the

1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the inaugural 1986 edition of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Athens, Greece on 16–20 July. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an un ...

the year after, where she ran a new best of 2:01.49 minutes to secure the silver medal behind Kenya's Selina Chirchir. She made her senior debut at the

and ran a best of 2:00.61 minutes, but failed to make the final. Still in the junior ranks in the 1987 season, she established herself at senior level. She won her first national title in the 800 m at the

Czechoslovak Indoor Athletics Championships The Czechoslovak Indoor Athletics Championships ( cz, Halové mistrovství Československa v atletice) was an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Czechoslovak Athletics Federation, which served as the national championship f ...

. This gained her selection for the

1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at Stade Couvert Régional in Liévin, France, on 21 and 22 February 1987. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participating nations * (7) * (13) * (18) * (1) * (15) * (1) * (16) ...

and she made her first senior final, coming fourth and being beaten to a medal by Soviet runner Lyubov Kiryukhina.Gabriela Sedlakova
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2015-11-04. She also made the 800 m final at the World Indoor Championships held shortly after and a new indoor personal best of 2:01.85 minutes was a European junior record. It was also enough for a silver medal behind

Christine Wachtel Christine Wachtel (born 6 January 1965), is a German track and field athlete who won the silver medal for East Germany at the 1988 Olympic summer games in Seoul in the 800 metres run. Her time of 1:56.64 put her second to her training pa ...

of East Germany. She was the first Czechoslovak woman to win a medal at the competition – only

Ivana Kubešová Ivana Kubešová (née Kleinová, then Walterová; born 26 May 1962 in Šumperk) is a retired middle distance runner who represented Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic. She won three medals at the European Indoor Championships as well as a ...

joined her in that feat before the country's dissolution. Sedláková's European junior record lasted almost twenty-seven years before being improved by Iceland's

Aníta Hinriksdóttir Aníta Hinriksdóttir (born 13 January 1996) is an Icelandic middle-distance track athlete who specializes in the 800 metres. She won the bronze medal in the event at the 2017 European Indoor Championships and a silver at the 2017 European U ...

in 2014. Going into the 1987 outdoor season, Sedláková won her first outdoor title at the Czechoslovak Athletics Championships. Her winning time of 2:00.42 minutes was another new best and the third-fastest ever winning time at the competition (only Jozefína Čerchlanová and

Jarmila Kratochvílová Jarmila Kratochvílová (; born 26 January 1951, in Golčův Jeníkov) is a Czech people, Czech former track and field athlete. She won the 400 metres and 800 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics, 1983 World Championships, setting a ...

had run faster). One week before the

she raised herself as a possible contender with another best at the Internationales Stadionfest meet in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, running 1:58.37 minutes. This proved to be her lifetime best and ultimately ranked her 15th globally on time that year. At the championships in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

she narrowly missed the final, coming fourth in her semi-final. She made only one further appearance in major international competition, running at the

1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary on 5 and 6 March 1988. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participating nations * (10) * (6) * (24) * (1) * (18) * (3) * (18) * (9) * (20) * (23) * (4) * ( ...

, at which she placed sixth. Her nation career continued to be successful, as she defended her indoor/outdoor Czechoslovak double in 1988, then won outdoors in 1989 and 1991. However, she never again reached her peak times. Her final national honour was a win in 1992 at the Czechoslovak Indoor Championships. Following her retirement, her records were incorporated into the Slovak national record books and she remains the national record holder indoors and outdoors for the 800 m.

Personal bests

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 ...

– 53.60 min (1986) *

– 1:58.37 min (1987) *

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 ...

– 4:15.18 min (1989)Gabriela Sedláková
Atletika Behy. Retrieved on 2015-11-04. *

indoor – 55.28 min (1986) *

indoor – 2:01.85 min (1987)

National titles

* Czechoslovak Athletics Championships **800 m: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991Czechoslovakian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-11-04. *

**800 m: 1987, 1988, 1992Czechoslovakian Indoor Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-11-04.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sedlakova, Gabriela Living people 1968 births Sportspeople from Topoľčany Czechoslovak female middle-distance runners Slovak female middle-distance runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Czechoslovakia World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Czechoslovak Athletics Championships winners