Ivan Kováč (25 December 1948 – 11 February 2023) was a Slovak

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

, specializing in 1,500 meters run, and sports journalist.

Biography

Kováč was born in Zemianske Kostoľany on 25 December 1948. He originally started competing in athletics in

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; ; , ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountains. Banská Štiavnica has a population of ...

before moving to Dukla

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

. Following his retirement, Kováč became a well-known radio sports commentator, covering football and ice hockey in addition to athletics.

Achievements

Kováč was a part of the winning team in the relay 4 x 4 laps at the

1973 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 1973 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held on 10 and 11 March 1973 in Rotterdam, Netherlands at the Rotterdam Ahoy, Ahoy arena. The track used for the championships was 170 metres long. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Pa ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. He also competed at the

European Athletics Indoor Championships The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skil ...

in 1970 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 1971 in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and 1974 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as well as the

1973 Summer Universiade The 1973 Summer Universiade, also known as the VII Summer Universiade, took place in Moscow, Soviet Union. Sports * * * * * * * * * * Venues at the 1973 Summer Universiade * ( Central Lenin Stadium) * ( Sport Palace of the Central Lenin S ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. On 30 May 1974, Kováč achieved the time of 3:39.4 in 1,500 meter run at an event in Bratislava, which is as of February 2023 still a national record in Slovakia.

References

External links

* 1948 births 2023 deaths People from Prievidza District Athletes from the Trenčín Region Slovak male middle-distance runners {{Slovakia-athletics-bio-stub