Gabriela Sedláková

Born in Topoľčany (now in Slovakia), she emerged as a teenager at the 1985 European Athletics Junior Championships, where she shared in the 800 m title with Maria Pintea – the pair ended the race in a dead heat of 2:03.22 minutes.[1] A second international medal followed at the 1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics the year after, where she ran a new best of 2:01.49 minutes to secure the silver medal behind Kenya's Selina Chirchir.[2] She made her senior debut at the 1986 European Athletics Championships and ran a best of 2:00.61 minutes, but failed to make the final.[3]

Still in the junior ranks in the 1987 season, she established herself at senior level. She won her first national title in the 800 m at the Czechoslovak Indoor Athletics Championships.[4] This gained her selection for the 1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships and she made her first senior final, coming fourth and being beaten to a medal by Soviet runner Lyubov Kiryukhina.[5] She also made the 800 m final at the World Indoor Championships held shortly after and a new indoor personal best of 2:01.85 minutes was a European junior record. It was also enough for a silver medal behind Christine Wachtel of East Germany. She was the first Czechoslovak woman to win a medal at the competition – only Ivana Kubešová joined her in that feat before the country's dissolution.[6] Sedláková's European junior record lasted almost twenty-seven years before being improved by Iceland's Aníta Hinriksdóttir in 2014.[7]

Going into the 1987 outdoor season, Sedláková won her first outdoor title at the Czechoslovak Athletics Championships. Her winning time of 2:00.42 minutes was another new best and the third-fastest ever winning time at the competition (only Jozefína Čerchlanová and Jarmila Kratochvílová had run faster).[8] One week before the 1987 World Championships in Athletics she raised herself as a possible contender with another best at the Internationales Stadionfest meet in West Berlin, running 1:58.37 minutes. This proved to be her lifetime best and ultimately ranked her 15th globally on time that year.[5] At the championships in Rome she narrowly missed the final, coming fourth in her semi-final.[9]

She made only one further appearance in major international competition, running at the 1988 European Athletics Indoor Championships, at which she placed sixth.[5] Her nation career continued to be successful, as she defended her indoor/outdoor Czechoslovak double in 1988, then won outdoors in 1989 and 1991. However, she never again reached her peak times. Her final national honour was a win in 1992 at the Czechoslovak Indoor Championships.[4][8]

Following her retirement, her records were incorporated into the Slovak national record books and she remains the national record holder indoors and outdoors for the 800 m.

• 400 metres – 53.60 min (1986)
• 800 metres – 1:58.37 min (1987)
• 1500 metres – 4:15.18 min (1989)[10]
• 400 metres indoor – 55.28 min (1986)
• 800 metres indoor – 2:01.85 min (1987)

• Czechoslovak Athletics Championships
  • 800 m: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991[8]
• Czechoslovak Indoor Athletics Championships
  • 800 m: 1987, 1988, 1992[4]

• Gabriela Sedláková at World Athletics