Jarmila Kratochvílová

Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjarmɪla ˈkratoxviːlovaː] ( listen); born 26 January 1951 in Golčův Jeníkov) is a Czech former sprinter and middle distance runner. In 1983, she set world record times for both the 400 metres and 800 metres, and won gold medals in both distances at the World Championships.

Kratochvílová was a late developer, whose career was dogged by injury and illness. For most of her career, she was a 400 m specialist, whose achievements were overshadowed by those of her East German rival Marita Koch. Kratochvílová hit peak form in 1983 at the age of 32. Entering a one-off 800 m race in Munich, reportedly as a training exercise, Kratochvílová broke the world record with a run of 1:53.28. This convinced her to attempt an unlikely double in the inaugural World Championships 10 days later. Despite a seemingly impossible schedule, she won the 800 m easily (in what is still the 5th best time ever in the event), and set a world record of 47.99 seconds to win the 400 m. Koch, having missed training through injury ran (and won) the 200 metres. Koch bettered Kratochvílová's 400 m record in 1985. However Kratochvílová's 800 m time is still the world record, and is currently the longest standing individual world record in Track and Field.

Her remarkable times and muscular appearance have spawned rumors of drug use, never proven. ^[1]

References

External links

• IAAF profile for Jarmila Kratochvílová
• profile