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

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete. She won the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

and

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( 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 an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

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 organization ...

in the 400 m. In 1983, she set the

for the 800 metres, which still stands and is currently the longest-standing individual world record in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. Only two athletes, Pamela Jelimo of Kenya (2008), and

Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...

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 Marita Koch (later Meier-Koch; born 18 February 1957) is a German former sprint track and field athlete. During her career she collected 16 world records in outdoor sprints as well as 14 world records in indoor events. Her record of 47.60 in th ...

in 1985. Koch's 400-metre world record of 47.60 seconds still stands as of 2022.Senior outdoor 400 metres women
IAAF. Retrieved 15 October 2019. Koch and Kratochvílová are the only women who have broken the 48 second barrier in a 400-metre laned race. Her 800-metre world record is the longest standing track record in men or women's athletics, and 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 rumors of illegal drug use. Kratochvílová has maintained her innocence, and although in 2006 the Prague newspaper '' Mladá fronta DNES'' 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 that account for her records, a claim treated with scepticism by several anti-doping campaigners. In 2017, she criticized a proposal by

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 5 ...

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 of 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 Sportspeople from the Vysočina Region