Gabriela Hanuláková (6 March 1957 – 22 January 2024) was a Slovak track and field athlete and athletic coach. She set Slovak national records in

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

(in 1985) and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

(in 1986), which still stood at the time of her death in 2024.

Biography

Gabriela Hanuláková was born on 6 March 1957 in

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

. In the beginning of her career she competed out of her hometown and was coached by Anna Vávrová, Anton Hajmássy and Libor Charfreitag senior. From 1977 she competed for Slávia Bratislava, under coach . Hanuláková made her debut internationally at the 1975 European Athletics Junior Championships in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, where she finished eighth in the shot put. At the

1985 Summer Universiade The 1985 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIII Summer Universiade, took place in Kobe, Japan. Mascot The mascot of the Kobe Universiade, "Unitan", designed by Osamu Tezuka, is a red-crested white Crane (bird), crane, symbolic of Japan and ...

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

she placed fifth in the same discipline. Hanuláková became the Slovak champion in shot put eight times and six times in the discus throw. In 1986 she became the Czechoslovak champion in the discus throw, interrupting 5 years of dominance from

Zdeňka Šilhavá Zdeňka Šilhavá (born Kusá, later known as Bartoňová-Šilhavá; 15 June 1954 in Krnov) is a Czech retired female track and field athlete who represented Czechoslovakia. She set the world record in the women's discus throw on 26 August 1984 ...

. Hanuláková was the first Slovak woman to beat the thresholds of 15 and 16 metres in the shot put as well as 50 and 60 metres in the discus throw. In the shot put she improved the Slovak national record nine times and in the discus throw thirteen times. At the time of her death, she still held the national record in both disciplines. After retiring from active athletics, Hanuláková was active as a coach. Among others, she was a coach of the hurdler

Martin Kučera Martin Kučera (born 10 May 1990 in Bratislava) is a Slovak athlete specialising in the 400 metres hurdles. He won the gold medal at the 2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade ( ...

Recognition

In November 2023 Hanuláková was awarded the European Athletics Women Leadership Award.

Death

Hanuláková died on 22 January 2024, at the age of 66.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanulakova, Gabriela 1957 births 2024 deaths Slovak female discus throwers Sportspeople from Trnava Athletes from the Trnava Region Slovak shot putters