Pavel Maslák (Czech pronunciation:[ˈpavɛlˈmaslaːk], born 21 February 1991) is a Czech sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres and 400 metres.[1] He is the only athlete in history who has won the 400 m title at the World Indoor Championships at three consecutive championships. Maslák is the first Czech to have run 400 metres under 45 seconds outdoor and under 46 seconds indoor.
In May 2012, Maslák set the Czech record in 400 m. His time of 45.31 cut almost half a second off the time reached by Karel Kolář at the same venue — Rošický Stadium — in 1978.[2] In June 2012, he further improved the record by clocking 45.17 in Turin. At the 2012 European Championships, Maslák won 400 m gold medal in a time of 45.24.
At 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Maslák competed in the 200 and 400 m events. In the 400 metres, he advanced from heats by setting a new national record and personal best of 44.91 but did not manage to repeat the feat in semi-finals and finished fifth in his run. In the 200 metres, Maslák finished fourth in Heat 5 in a time of 20.67 and did not progress further. In his last race of the 2012 season, Maslák set a national record of 20.59 in 200 metres dash.
