Barbora Špotáková
Barbora Špotáková is a Czech javelin thrower who won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012 and held the women's world record from 2008 to 2024.
2008 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games held in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Špotáková won her first Olympic gold in the women's javelin final in Beijing.
Jan Železný: A Czech javelin thrower, Olympic champion, and former men's world-record holder. He coached Špotáková during much of her elite career.
Javelin throw: A track-and-field event in which athletes throw a spear-like implement for distance. It is the event in which Špotáková competed and set her record.
Women's javelin world record: The ratified best performance in the women's javelin throw under World Athletics rules. Špotáková's 72.28-metre mark held this record from 2008 until 2024.
2012 Summer Olympics: The Summer Olympic Games held in London, United Kingdom, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. She defended her Olympic javelin title at the London Games.
Jarmila Kratochvílová: A Czech middle-distance runner who set the women's 800-metre world record in 1983. Like Špotáková, she became a prominent Czech holder of a long-standing athletics world record.
Javelin: A long, slender throwing implement used in athletics and other sporting traditions. Its design and flight determine the distance measured in her event.
World Athletics: The international governing body for track and field, road running, race walking, and related events. It ratifies world records and sets the competition rules governing her event.
2008 World Athletics Final: The season-ending athletics competition held in Stuttgart in September 2008. Špotáková set her world record there with a throw of 72.28 metres.
Christina Obergföll: A German javelin thrower who won Olympic silver and two world championship silver medals. Obergföll was Špotáková's recurring rival at major championships.