Šárka Kašpárková

Šárka Kašpárková (, born 20 May 1971) 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 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 Republic 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.

Decline Kašpárková suffered a marked decline after 1999 and she never jumped beyond 14.40 m after that point.

Personal bests She also competed in the 100 metres hurdles and long jump on limited occasions. Source: 2003 World Championships Paris, France 24th (q) Triple jump 13.75 m

World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 21st (q) Triple jump 13.87 m Olympic Games Athens, Greece 26th (q) Triple jump 13.79 m

European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 4th Triple jump 14.34 m World Championships Helsinki, Finland 21st (q) Triple jump 13.69 m 2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 20th (q) Triple jump 13.39 m

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