Jarmila Kratochvílová (; born 26 January 1951 in Golčův Jeníkov) is a Czechoslovak former

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 skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. She won the 400 metres and

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, 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 a ...

at the 1983 World Championships, setting a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the 400 m. In 1983, she set the

for the 800 metres, which still stands and is currently the longest-standing world record in athletics. Only two athletes, Pamela Jelimo of Kenya (2008), and Caster Semenya of South Africa (2018), have come within a second of Kratochvílová's mark since it was set.

Biography

In 1983, Kratochvílová broke the 800 m world record with a time of 1:53.28. At the World Championships shortly afterwards, she set a world record of 47.99 seconds to win the 400 m. Kratochvílová's 1983 400-metre world record of 47.99 seconds stood for two years until it was broken by her great rival Marita Koch in 1985. Koch's 400-metre world record of 47.60 seconds still stands in 2024. Kratochvílová's world record on an indoor track—49.59—stood until 19 February 2023 when the 400-meter indoor world record was broken by Femke Bol from the Netherlands with a time of 49.26. Koch and Kratochvílová are the only women who have broken the 48-second barrier in a laned 400-metre outdoor race. Her 800-metre world record is the longest-standing unshared track record in men or women's athletics, and it was described by 1996 Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova as ".. very fast. It's impossible for women to run so fast. It will last for 100 years." Kratochvílová was a late developer, not breaking 53 seconds for the 400 metres until she was 27, and she was 32 when she set her world records.

Allegations of drug use

Her remarkably fast times and her atypical muscular physique spawned rumours of illegal drug use. Kratochvílová has maintained her innocence, and although in 2006 the Prague newspaper ''

Mladá fronta DNES ''Mladá fronta Dnes'' (), also known as ''MF Dnes'' or simply ''Dnes'', is a daily newspaper based in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Euro ...

'' claimed to have uncovered a doping program run by the government of Czechoslovakia, there was no link to Kratochvílová despite her being her country's highest-profile athlete. She and her coach of 20 years, Miroslav Kvac, maintain that it was rigorous training and high doses of

vitamin B12 Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. One of eight B vitamins, it serves as a vital cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor in DNA synthesis and both fatty acid metabolism, fatty acid and amino a ...

that account for her records, a claim treated with scepticism by several anti-doping campaigners. In 2017, she criticized a proposal by European Athletics to remove suspicion about drug-taking by voiding all world records set before 2005.

Post-retirement

Since her retirement, Kratochvílová has worked as an athletics coach and with the Czech national team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kratochvilova, Jarmila 1951 births Living people People from Havlíčkův Brod District Czechoslovak female sprinters Czech female sprinters Czechoslovak female middle-distance runners Czech female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Czechoslovakia Olympic silver medalists for Czechoslovakia Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Czechoslovakia World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics record holders World record setters in athletics (track and field) World record holders in masters athletics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics indoor record holders Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners World Athletics Championships winners Olympic female sprinters Friendship Games medalists in athletics Athletes from the Vysočina Region Czech athletics coaches Female sports coaches Czechoslovak Athletics Championships winners