Šárka Kašpárková
Encyclopedia
Šárka Kašpárková (ˈʃaːrka ˈkaʃpaːrkovaː) (born 20 May 1971 in Karviná
, Czechoslovakia
) is a former Czech
track and field
athlete who specialised in the triple jump
.
She attended her first Summer Olympics in 1992
, participating in the high jump
. She switched to the triple jump when it was given world championships status and won an Olympic bronze medal in the discipline at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She won another bronze at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
and improved further by becoming the world champion at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics
– her winning jump of 15.20 m was the second farthest ever at the time.
She won both the indoor and outdoor silver medals at the European Athletics Championships. She won the bronze at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
with her personal best indoor jump of 14.87 m, but failed to reach the podium at any major championships after that point, suffering a sharp decline in form.
er and finished sixth at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics
. She won the bronze medal in the 1989 European Athletics Junior Championships, and she went on to participate in the women's high jump at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for Czechoslovakia
. Her last period as a high jumper also brought her best performance – she jumped a personal best of 1.95 m in Banská Bystrica
in early 1993.
When the female triple jump
was introduced to the IAAF competitions, she moved to this discipline as one of the first competitors. She represented Europe in the triple jump at the 1992 IAAF World Cup
, finishing in fifth place. She took part in the very first world championship event at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics and finished in seventh with a personal best jump of 14.16 m. She failed to break 14 metres the following year at the 1994 European Championships and had to settle for sixth place. She came close to the medals the following season with a fourth place performance at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships
. She reverted to being out of medal contention at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics
and 1995 IAAF Grand Prix Final
.
with a bronze in the triple jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics
. She confirmed her ability in the 1997 season, first winning a bronze at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
, and then winning the World Championships
with a national record jump of 15.20 m – this was the best jump that season and it made her the second best athlete in the event after Inessa Kravets
at the time. A silver medal at the 1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final
brought an end to a successful season.
She won a second European indoor silver at the 1998 Championships
, finishing behind Ashia Hansen
who jumped 15.16 m, and went on to take another silver later that season at the European Championships outdoors. She retained her indoor bronze at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
with a personal best indoor jump of 14.87 m in Maebashi. She failed to retain her world title, however, at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics
and could only manage 14.54 m for sixth place.
, 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships
and 2004 Summer Olympics
, but each time she did not manage to jump more than 14 metres and was eliminated in the qualifiers.
She had a reversal of fortunes at the 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships
and took fourth place with a season's best of 14.34 m. She did not continue this form outdoors, however, and did not make the final at either the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
or 2006 European Athletics Championships.
and long jump
on limited occasions.
Karviná
Karviná is a city in Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, on the Olza River. It is administrative center of Karviná District. Karviná lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia and is one of the most important coal mining centers in the Czech Republic. Together with neighboring...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
) is a former Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who specialised in the triple jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
.
She attended her first Summer Olympics in 1992
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, participating in the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
. She switched to the triple jump when it was given world championships status and won an Olympic bronze medal in the discipline at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She won another bronze at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...
and improved further by becoming the world champion at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...
– her winning jump of 15.20 m was the second farthest ever at the time.
She won both the indoor and outdoor silver medals at the European Athletics Championships. She won the bronze at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...
with her personal best indoor jump of 14.87 m, but failed to reach the podium at any major championships after that point, suffering a sharp decline in form.
Early career
At 1.86 metres tall, Kašpárková started her professional athletics career as a high jumpHigh jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
er and finished sixth at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics
1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1988 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada from July 27 to July 31, 1988....
. She won the bronze medal in the 1989 European Athletics Junior Championships, and she went on to participate in the women's high jump at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics for Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Summer Olympics
The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic competed as a nation for the last time at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain...
. Her last period as a high jumper also brought her best performance – she jumped a personal best of 1.95 m in Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia...
in early 1993.
When the female triple jump
Triple jump
The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a...
was introduced to the IAAF competitions, she moved to this discipline as one of the first competitors. She represented Europe in the triple jump at the 1992 IAAF World Cup
1992 IAAF World Cup
The 6th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 8–10, 1992, at the Estadio Panamericano in Havana, Cuba.-Men:|width="50"| ...
, finishing in fifth place. She took part in the very first world championship event at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics and finished in seventh with a personal best jump of 14.16 m. She failed to break 14 metres the following year at the 1994 European Championships and had to settle for sixth place. She came close to the medals the following season with a fourth place performance at the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 5th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 10 March to 12 March 1995. There were a total number of 602 participating athletes from 130 countries.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:...
. She reverted to being out of medal contention at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics
1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
and 1995 IAAF Grand Prix Final
1995 IAAF Grand Prix Final
The 11th IAAF Grand Prix Final was held at the Stade Louis II in Monte Carlo, Monaco on September 9th, 1995.-Men:- Women :-External links:*...
.
Olympic and world medals
She became the triple jump at the 1995 Summer Universiade. She won her first major medals soon after, taking the silver at the 1996 European Indoor Athletics Championships and winning her first Olympic medal for the Czech RepublicCzech Republic at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The Czech Republic competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.It was the first Summer Games since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, and so the Czech Republic and Slovakia competed as independent teams.- Gold:...
with a bronze in the triple jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. She confirmed her ability in the 1997 season, first winning a bronze at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 6th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France from March 7 to March 9, 1997. It was the first athletic championships to introduce women's pole vault...
, and then winning the World Championships
1997 World Championships in Athletics
The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...
with a national record jump of 15.20 m – this was the best jump that season and it made her the second best athlete in the event after Inessa Kravets
Inessa Kravets
Inessa Mykolajivna Kravets is an Ukrainian triple jumper and long jumper.She jumped the world record at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg with 15.50m after studying a picture of Jonathan Edwards....
at the time. A silver medal at the 1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final
1997 IAAF Grand Prix Final
The 13th IAAF Grand Prix Final was held at the Hakata-no-mori Stadium in Fukuoka, Japan on September 13, 1997.-Men:- Women :-External links:*...
brought an end to a successful season.
She won a second European indoor silver at the 1998 Championships
1998 European Indoor Athletics Championships
The 25th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held from Friday, 27 February to Sunday, 1 March 1998 at the Palace of Luis Puig, Valencia, Spain.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-External links:* - Athletix...
, finishing behind Ashia Hansen
Ashia Hansen
Ashia Hansen, MBE was a British triple jumper who competed internationally from 1994-2008.-Early life:...
who jumped 15.16 m, and went on to take another silver later that season at the European Championships outdoors. She retained her indoor bronze at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...
with a personal best indoor jump of 14.87 m in Maebashi. She failed to retain her world title, however, at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics
1999 World Championships in Athletics
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....
and could only manage 14.54 m for sixth place.
Decline
Kašpárková suffered a marked decline after 1999 and she never jumped beyond 14.40 m after that point. Her mark of 14.34 m was enough to qualify for 2000 Olympic triple jump final, but she faulted three times and finished last. She took part in the 2003 World Championships in Athletics2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...
, 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...
and 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, but each time she did not manage to jump more than 14 metres and was eliminated in the qualifiers.
She had a reversal of fortunes at the 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships
2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships
The 28th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid, the capital city of Spain, from Friday, 4 March to Sunday, 6 March 2005.-Men:...
and took fourth place with a season's best of 14.34 m. She did not continue this form outdoors, however, and did not make the final at either the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
or 2006 European Athletics Championships.
Personal life
She is married to her coach Michal Pogány, and they have a daughter, Tereza. After retirement, she became a sports instructor.Personal bests
She also competed in the 100 metres hurdles100 metres hurdles
The 100 m hurdles are an Olympic track and field athletics discipline run by women . For the race ten hurdles of a height of 83.8 cm are placed evenly spaced along a straight course of 100 meters. They are positioned so that they will fall over if bumped into by the runner...
and long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
on limited occasions.
| Event | Best (m) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triple jump Triple jump The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a... (outdoor) |
15.20 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece |
4 August 1997 |
| Triple jump Triple jump The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a “hop, bound and jump” routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a bound and then a jump into the sand pit.The triple jump has its origins in the Ancient Olympics and has been a... (indoor) |
14.87 | Maebashi, Japan | 7 March 1999 |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... (outdoor) |
1.92 | Kerkrade Kerkrade Kerkrade is a town and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.It is the western half of the divided region and de facto city, taken together with the eastern half, the German town of Herzogenrath... , Netherlands |
30 May 1992 |
| High jump High jump The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years.... (indoor) |
1.95 | Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica is a key city in central Slovakia located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mountains. With 81,281 inhabitants, Banská Bystrica is the sixth most populous municipality in Slovakia... , Czech Republic |
27 January 1993 |
| Long jump Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point... |
6.56 | Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... , Czech Republic |
20 June 1998 |
- All information taken from IAAF profile.