Dana Zátopková

Dana Zátopková

Dana Zátopková (2007)
Personal information
Born	(1922-09-19) 19 September 1922 (age 94) Fryštát, Czechoslovakia
Medal record Representing  Czechoslovakia Women's Athletics Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki Javelin throw 1960 Rome Javelin throw European Athletics Championships 1954 Bern Javelin throw 1958 Stockholm Javelin throw

Dana Zátopková (Czech pronunciation: [ˈdana ˈzaːtopkovaː]; née Ingrová [ˈɪŋɡrovaː], born September 19, 1922) is a Czech former javelin thrower. She won the gold medal for javelin in the 1952 Summer Olympics (only an hour after her husband, Emil Zátopek, won the 5,000 m), and the silver medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. She was the European champion in 1954 and 1958. She also set a world record in 1958 (55.73 m) when she was 35, making her the oldest woman to break one in an outdoor athletics event.

Zátopková and her husband were the witnesses at the wedding ceremony of Olympic gold medalists Olga Fikotová and Harold Connolly in Prague in 1957. Emil spoke to the Czechoslovak president to request help in Olga getting a permit to marry Connolly. While it's not clear how much this helped, they surprisingly received a permit a few days later.