Ludvík Daněk (; 6 January 1937 – 16 November 1998) was a Czechoslovak

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 ...

er, who won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 1972 Olympic Games with a throw of . Daněk was born in

Blansko Blansko (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative division Blansko consi ...

, and competed in four Summer Olympics for Czechoslovakia, winning silver in 1964 Olympics, bronze in 1968 Olympics and gold in 1972 Olympics. He set three world records in discus throw, of 64.55 m in 1964, 65.22 m in 1965 and of 66.07 m in 1966. He also won several medals at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for me ...

. He was the gold medallist at the 1971 European Athletics Championships and was the silver medallist three years later at the 1974 European Athletics Championships.Ludvik Danek
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2 June 2013. After retiring from competitions Daněk became a sports administrator, and served as vice-president of the Czech athletics federation. The location where he set his first world record in 1964 is now celebrated with a memorial circle, and the venue in Turnov is now called the Ludvík Daněk Stadium. He died in Hutisko-Solanec near

Vsetín Vsetín () is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Originally a small town, Vsetín has become an important centre of industrial, economic, cultural and sports life during the 20th century. Administ ...

, aged 61. Since 1999, the year following his death, the stadium has hosted an annual track and field meeting in his honour – the Ludvík Daněk Memorial.Memoriál Ludvíka Daňka v Turnově
Themis. Retrieved on 2 June 2013.

Major competitions

* 1964:

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 2nd place (60.52) * 1966: European Championships: 5th place (56.24) * 1968:

: 3rd place (62.92) * 1969: European Championships: 4th place (59.30) * 1971: European Championships: 1st place (63.90) * 1972:

: 1st place (64.40) * 1974: European Championships: 2nd place (62.76) * 1976:

: 9th place (61.28)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danek, Ludvik 1937 births 1998 deaths People from Blansko Czech male discus throwers Czechoslovak male discus throwers World record setters in athletics (track and field) Olympic athletes for Czechoslovakia Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Czechoslovakia Olympic silver medalists for Czechoslovakia Olympic gold medalists for Czechoslovakia European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes from the South Moravian Region Czechoslovak Athletics Championships winners