Quick Facts
Biography
Jan Železný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ʒɛlɛzniː]) (born 16 June 1966) is a Czech javelin thrower, world and Olympic champion and world record holder. He holds the top five javelin performances of all time.
Biography
Železný was born in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia. He won the gold at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympic Games and silver in the 1988 Olympics as well as three World Championship titles; in 1993, 1995 and 2001. Because of his achievements he is widely considered to be the all-time greatest javelin thrower.
Železný holds the world record, at 98.48 metres (323 ft 1 in) set in 1996, and the World Championships record of 92.80 m, set in 2001. As of 4 August 2013, Železný has made 53 of the total 99 throws over 90 meters, while second place on the list is shared by Andreas Thorkildsen and Aki Parviainen by eight throws over 90 meters each. On 26 March 1997 in Stellenbosch, South Africa Železný threw 5 times over the 90m barrier in a single meeting. Železný is also the only athlete to throw more than 94 meters with the new type of javelin, something he achieved five times.
During his career he has had many great battles against the likes of Steve Backley, Sergey Makarov, Boris Henry, Seppo Räty, Raymond Hecht and Aki Parviainen.
He planned to retire after the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, where he won the bronze with a throw of 85.92 m. He took leave of his career on 19 September 2006 on exhibition in Mladá Boleslav, the place where he started with athletics.
He will continue working for the IOC and as a coach in Prague. He coaches Vítězslav Veselý, and he used to coach Barbora Špotáková.
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Czechoslovakia | |||||
| 1983 | European Junior Championships | Schwechat, Austria | 6th | Javelin (old) | 71.26 m |
| 1985 | European Junior Championships | Cottbus, East Germany | 4th | Javelin (old) | 75.10 m |
| 1986 | European Championships | Stuttgart, West Germany | 18th (q) | Javelin | 75.90 m |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 3rd | Javelin | 82.20 m |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 2nd | Javelin | 84.12 m |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 13th (q) | Javelin | 77.64 m |
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 18th (q) | Javelin | 76.26 m |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | Javelin | 89.66 m |
| Representing the Czech Republic | |||||
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 1st | Javelin | 85.98 m |
| 1994 | European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | Javelin | 82.58 m |
| 1995 | World Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 1st | Javelin | 89.58 m |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 1st | Javelin | 88.16 m |
| 1997 | World Championships | Athens, Greece | 9th | Javelin | 82.04 m |
| 1999 | World Championships | Seville, Spain | 3rd | Javelin | 87.67 m |
| 2000 | Olympic Games | Sydney, Australia | 1st | Javelin | 90.17 m |
| 2001 | World Championships | Edmonton, Canada | 1st | Javelin | 92.80 m |
| Goodwill Games | Brisbane, Australia | 1st | Javelin | 87.52 m | |
| 2002 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 11th | Javelin | NM |
| 2003 | World Championships | Paris, France | 4th | Javelin | 84.09 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 9th | Javelin | 80.59 m |
| 2006 | European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 3rd | Javelin | 85.92 m |
- 2001 - 92.80
- 2002 - 87.77
- 2003 - 89.06
- 2004 - 86.12
- 2005 - 83.98
- 2006 - 86.07