Roman Šebrle

Private life Šebrle was born on 26 November 1974 in Lanškroun, Czechoslovakia. He studied at František Martin Pelcl Gymnasium in Rychnov nad Kněžnou and at Gymnasium Pardubice. Then he studied an extension course of Information Science and Computer Technology.

On 14 October 2000 Šebrle married Eva Kasalová, a former Czech athlete who competed on the track in the 400 and 800 metres. Their son, Štěpán, a professional footballer, was born on 4 September 2002 and their daughter Kateřina on 30 January 2006.

Sporting career

Beginning When Roman Šebrle was six years old, he started playing football, but also occasionally took part in athletics competitions. In 1987 he broke his calf bone and shin bone on one leg in a collision with the opponent goalkeeper during a football match. After this incident he had his leg in plaster for 2 months and spent one year learning to walk. in any military training.

Achievements In 1996 Šebrle achieved a score of over 8,000 points for the first time, reaching 8,210 points at a meeting in Prague. His first big success came in 1997, when he won the World University Games in Sicily and came ninth at the World Championships in Athens. In 1999 he was successful at the World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, where he won bronze in the heptathlon, and one year later at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Ghent, where he took silver.

By the end of the discus discipline at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, after Estonian Erki Nool was red-flagged three times by the discus judge, it seemed that Roman Šebrle was on course for the gold medal. However, the competition referee overruled the decision and Šebrle finally took silver.

In March 2001 he won the first major tournament – the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon – and in May he shocked the world with a new world record of 9,026 points at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis, marking the first time a decathlete has ever broken the illustrious 9,000 point barrier. However, due to an injury he couldn't do himself justice and finished a disappointed 10th in the World Championships in Edmonton.

Šebrle then left the Váňa's group and started to train with coach Dalibor Kupka in the same club. In 2002 he won both European Indoor Championships in Vienna and European Championships in Munich. In 2004 in Athens he finally won the Olympic Games, reaching 8,893 points and thus beating the 20-year-old Olympic record set by the British decathlete Daley Thompson in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. After the victory in Athens, the Czech minister of defence promoted him to the rank of major.

Šebrle's best World Championships results were gold in 2007 (Osaka) and silver in 2003 (Paris) and 2005 (Helsinki). He was also successful at the World Indoor Championships in heptathlon, taking gold in 2001 (Lisbon) and 2004 (Budapest, beating the European record with 6,438 points), and bronze in 1999 (Maebashi), 2003 (Birmingham) and 2006 (Moscow). In 2005 he won the European Indoor Championships in heptathlon (Madrid), in 2006 the European Championships in decathlon for the second time (Gothenburg) and in 2007 he got his third European indoor gold (Birmingham). He is the only decathlete who finished 40 decathlon competitions with the score over 8,000 points and 20 competitions with the score over 8,500 points . Šebrle was also voted the Best Czech Athlete of the Year five times in a row (2002–2006), and in 2004 he received the title of the Czech Sportsman of the Year. In 2002 he received the Guth-Jarkovský Trophy for his world record, which is awarded by the Czech Olympic Committee for the best performance by a Czech athlete achieved during the previous year.

Javelin injury On 22 January 2007, Šebrle was hurt by a javelin thrown by a South African female javelin thrower, Sunette Viljoen, from a distance of 55 metres while training in South Africa. The javelin pierced the edge of his right shoulder from the front, 12 cm deep. Shocked, Šebrle ripped the javelin out immediately, which could have caused even more damage. It did not cause any serious injury however, because it slipped between a muscle and his skin. He was taken to a hospital, but left soon with just eleven stitches. However, he was limited in training for some time, especially in the pole vault. Later he stated that he was only 20 cm away from being killed and 1 cm from an injury that would have ended his career.

Personal bests Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor

Event Performance Location Date Long jump (+1.8 m/s) Prague 5 June 1999 (+2.1 m/s) Thum 20 May 2001 High jump Schleswig 9 May 1999 Pole vault Turnov 18 May 2003 100 metres 10.92 (+0.6 m/s) Linz 2 August 2004 200 metres 21.74 (+1.4 m/s) Prague 7 August 2004 300 metres 35.12 Prague 13 June 2005 110 metres hurdles 13.79 (+0.3 m/s) Ostrava 27 June 1999 13.68 (+2.6 m/s) Thum 20 May 2001 Shot put Pardubice 3 August 2006 Discus throw Prague 24 May 2009 Javelin throw Villeneuve d'Ascq 8 June 2007

Event Performance Location Date Points Decathlon Götzis 26–26 May 2001 9,026 points 100 meters 10.64 (+1.3 m/s) Götzis 3 June 2000 942 points Long jump (+1.9 m/s) Götzis 26 May 2001 1,089 points Shot put Kladno 20 June 2007 880 points High jump Götzis 3 June 2000 944 points 400 meters 47.76 Götzis 29 May 1999 921 points 110 meters hurdles 13.87 (-1.4 m/s) Sydney 28 September 2000 991 points Discus throw Arles 4 June 2006 852 points Pole vault Munich 8 August 2002 941 points Javelin throw Osaka 1 September 2007 907 points 1500 meters 4:21.98 Götzis 27 May 2001 798 points Virtual Best Performance 9,265 points

Indoor

Event Performance Location Date Long jump Prague 13 February 2000 High jump Prague 15 February 1997 Pole vault Prague 21 February 2004 60 metres 7.01 Chemnitz 22 February 2002 200 metres 22.78 Belfast 18 February 2007 50 metres hurdles 6.79 Reykjavík 24 January 1999 60 metres hurdles 7.84 Prague 12 February 2000 Shot put Germiston 25 January 2002

Event Performance Location Date Points Heptathlon Budapest 6–7 March 2004 6,438 points 60 meters 6.91 Tallinn 6 February 1999 915 points Long jump Tallinn 29 January 2000 1,053 points Shot put Budapest 6 March 2004 869 points High jump Tallinn 6 February 1999 925 points 60 meters hurdles 7.86 Lisbon 11 March 2001 1,017 points Pole vault Tallinn 8 February 2004 926 points 1000 meters 2:37.86 Lisbon 11 March 2001 897 points Virtual Best Performance 6,602 points

List of results

Year Competition Place Discipline Points Note Result Ref. 1997 Athens Decathlon 8232 1997 Catania Decathlon 8380 1998 Valencia Heptathlon – DNF 1999 Maebashi Heptathlon 6319 1999 Seville Decathlon – DNF 2000 Sydney Decathlon 8606 2001 Lisbon Heptathlon 6420 2001 Edmonton Decathlon 8174 2002 Vienna Heptathlon 6280 2002 Munich Decathlon 8800 2003 Birmingham Heptathlon 6196 2003 Paris Decathlon 8634 2004 Budapest Heptathlon 6438 ER 2004 Athens Decathlon 8893 OR 2005 Madrid Heptathlon 6232 2005 Helsinki Decathlon 8521 2006 Moscow Heptathlon 6161 2006 Gothenburg Decathlon 8526 2007 Birmingham Heptathlon 6196 2007 Osaka Decathlon 8676 2008 Valencia Heptathlon – DNF 2008 Beijing Decathlon 8241 2009 Berlin Decathlon 8266 2011 Paris Heptathlon 6178 2011 Daegu Decathlon 8069 2012 London Decathlon – DNF