Jiří Skobla (6 April 1930 – 18 November 1978) was a

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 Repu ...

athlete who competed mainly in the

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 ...

. Born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, he was the son of former Olympic heavyweight weightlifting champion

Jaroslav Skobla Jaroslav Skobla (16 April 1899 – 22 November 1959) was a Czechoslovakian weightlifter. After winning a world light-heavyweight title in 1923 he was a favorite at the 1924 Olympics, but finished in a mere eighth place. Skobla then moved to the ...

.Jiří Skobla
. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-02-01. His first success was a gold medal at the

1954 European Athletics Championships The 5th European Athletics Championships were held at Stadion Neufeld from 25–29 August 1954 in the Swiss capital Bern. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Medal summary Complete results were publis ...

– a feat that no other Czech has been able to replicate since. He was the bronze medallist at the event at the

1958 European Athletics Championships The 6th European Athletics Championships were held from 19–24 August 1958 in the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Olympic Stadium of Stockholm, Sweden. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Medal summary C ...

and placed sixth in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. He competed for

Czechoslovakia at the Olympics Czechoslovakia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1918, after having competed as Bohemia from 1900 to 1912. The nation sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games when they were part of the ...

on three occasions: 1952, 1956 and 1960. His best performance was in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. His final international medal, a bronze, came at the

1966 European Indoor Games The 1966 European Indoor Games were the first edition of what later became the European Athletics Indoor Championships. These games took place on 27 March 1966 at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, a city of West Germany West Germany was the common ...

. Skobla died of

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

in Prague. The autopsy results were not released, but it was widely believed his death may have been associated with steroid use.

References

*Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): Shot Put". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 236–7. 1930 births 1978 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Czechoslovak male shot putters Deaths from kidney cancer Olympic bronze medalists for Czechoslovakia Olympic athletes for Czechoslovakia Czech male shot putters European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes from Prague Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Czechoslovakia-Olympic-medalist-stub