Jan Železný
Jan Železný is a retired Czech track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was a World and Olympic Champion and holds the world record with a throw of 98.48 m. Widely considered to be the greatest javelin thrower of the modern era, he also has the second, third and fourth best 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.
Železný holds the world record, at set in 1996, and the World Championships record of 92.80 m, set in 2001. On 26 March 1997 in Stellenbosch, South Africa Železný threw over the 90m barrier five times in a single meeting. Železný is also the only athlete to throw more than 95 meters with the new type of javelin, something he achieved three times.
During his career he 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 coaches Vítězslav Veselý, and is the former coach of Barbora Špotáková.International competitions
