Jan Železný

Medal record
Jan Železný
Men’s Athletics
Olympic Games
Competitor for Czech Republic
Gold	2000 Sydney	Javelin
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Javelin
Competitor for Czechoslovakia
Gold	1992 Barcelona	Javelin
Silver	1988 Seoul	Javelin
World Championships
Competitor for Czech Republic
Gold	2001 Edmonton	Javelin
Gold	1995 Gothenburg	Javelin
Gold	1993 Stuttgart	Javelin
Bronze	1999 Seville	Javelin
Competitor for Czechoslovakia
Bronze	1987 Rome	Javelin
European Championships
Competitor for Czech Republic
Bronze	2006 Gothenburg	Javelin
Bronze	1994 Helsinki	Javelin

Jan Železný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjan ˈʒɛlɛzniː] ( listen)) (born 16 June 1966 in Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech javelin thrower, world and Olympic champion and world record holder in javelin throw. He holds all five of the top 5 javelin performances of all time.

Železný 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 greatest javelin thrower ever.

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 1 August 2005, Železný has made 52 throws over 90 meters, more than all other javelin throwers combined (32). He 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 like 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.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event

External links

• IAAF profile for Jan Železný

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jonathan Edwards	Men's European Athlete of the Year 1996	Succeeded by Wilson Kipketer
Preceded by Tomáš Dvořák	Men's European Athlete of the Year 2000	Succeeded by André Bucher
Preceded by Michael Johnson	IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2000	Succeeded by Hicham El Guerrouj