Janet Kohan-Sedq

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Janet Kohan-Sadq
Date of birth 1945
Place of birth Tehran, Iran
Date of death June, 1972
Place of death , Iran
Previous Teams
Career 1961-1972

Infobox last updated on: 28 May 2007.

Janet Kohan-Sedq (born 1945-1972) is a former Iranian athlete who died at the height of her career. She was a national champion and holder of a number of records in the early and mid-1960s. A graduate of the Anushiravan High School, she received a degree in physical education from the University of Tehran. Her crowning achievement was at a track and field meet in October 1965. There, Kohan-Sedq broke the 100 metre and 60 metre hurdle records. The 35,000 people in the stadium began to chant her name and she was named athlete of the year by sports weekly, Keyhan-e-varzeshi. In June of 1972, she died in a car crash along with the captain of the Iran women's national basketball team, Simin Shafiqi. In her memory, both the University of Tehran and the Iranian Track and Field Federation instituted yearly competitions in her name. The first of which, she was honored in her own discipline by having lane 2 remain open and strewn with flowers, as that was the last place where she competed.

[edit] Biography

Born in 1945, she was the third daughter of the Kohan-Sedq family. Her first 100 metre race was in 1960 where she came in a respectable third place. As an adult, her first race was in 1960 when she won the 80 metres in a record time of 11 seconds.

[edit] References

Chehabi, H.E. [June 2002]. "Sports", in Houman Sarshar: Esther's Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews (in English). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 377-378. ISBN 978-0827607514.