Zuzana Hejnová

Not to be confused with Zuzana Hejdová.

Zuzana Hejnová
Hejnová after her win at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Born (1986-12-19) 19 December 1986 (age 38)
Liberec, Czechoslovakia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
CountryCzech Republic
SportAthletics
Event(s)400 m hurdles, 400 m, 100 m hurdles
Retired2022
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals
  • 2008 Beijing
  • 400 m hurdles, 7th
  • 2012 London
  • 400 m hurdles,  Silver
  • 4×400 m relay, 6th
  • 2016 Rio de Janeiro
  • 400 m hurdles, 4th
World finals
  • 2005 Helsinki
  • 400 m hurdles, 22nd (sf)
  • 2007 Osaka
  • 400 m hurdles, 13th (sf)
  • 2009 Berlin
  • 400 m hurdles, 11th (sf)
  • 2011 Daegu
  • 400 m hurdles, 7th
  • 4×400 m relay, 5th
  • 2013 Moscow
  • 400 m hurdles,  Gold
  • 2015 Beijing
  • 400 m hurdles,  Gold
  • 2017 London
  • 400 m hurdles, 4th
  • 2019 Doha
  • 400 m hurdles, 5th
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Czech Republic
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 400 m hurdles
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Moscow 400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 400 m hurdles
World Indoors Championships
Silver medal – second place 2010 Doha 4x400 m relay
Diamond League
First place 2013 400 m hurdles
First place 2015 400 m hurdles
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Helsinki 400 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Helsinki 4x400 m relay
European Indoors Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Belgrade 400 m
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Gothenburg 4x400 m relay
European U23 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Debrecen 400 m hurdles
World U20 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2004 Grosseto 400 m hurdles
European U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 Kaunas 400 m hurdles
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Tampere 400 m hurdles
World Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Sherbrooke 400 m hurdles

Zuzana Hejnová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈzuzana ˈɦɛjnovaː]; born 19 December 1986[1]) is a retired Czech athlete who specialised in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2012 London Olympics. Hejnová is a two-time World Champion, having claimed titles at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics. She won bronze at the 2012 European Championships and silver for the 400 metres at the 2017 European Indoor Championships.

At age 16, Hejnová earned the gold medal in her specialist event at the 2003 World Under-18 Championships to take a silver at the 2004 World U20 Championships. She also won bronze and gold at the 2003 and 2005 European U20 Championships respectively. She is a two-time Diamond League 400 m hurdles winner. Hejnová is the Czech record holder for the 400 m hurdles, and also holds national best in the 300 m hurdles. She is a four-time Czech outdoor champion (400 m, 400 m hurdles) and an eight-time national indoor champion (200 m, 400 m, pentathlon).

Her sister, Michaela, is also an Olympic athlete.[2]

Junior

In 2003, Zuzana Hejnová competed at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics at Sherbrooke, Canada and won the gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles with a time of 57.54. A year later, she returned at Grosseto, Italy at the 2004 World Junior Championships. This time she won the silver with a time of 57.44 in the 400 m hurdles, defeated by the Russian, Ekaterina Kostetskaya, who won gold by a large margin at 55.55 seconds.

Her current personal bests are 14.11 in the 100m achieved at Ostrava on 3 September 2005; 13.77 in the 100 metres hurdles at Stará Boleslav on 13 June 2003; 53.04 in the 400 m at Kladno on 28 June 2008; and 54.90 in the 400 m hurdles recorded at Monaco on 28 July 2009.

Career

2008

Hejnová at the Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague in 2008

In early March 2008 Hejnová competed in the 400 metres at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships and reached the semi-finals but did not qualify to reach the final. She did however, reach the final with the Czech relay team in the 4 × 400 metres relay in a team which included her, Zuzana Bergrová, Denisa Ščerbová, and Jitka Bartoničková. They finished 4th, with a time of 3:34.53, but were over 5 seconds slower than the Americans who took bronze with a time of 3:29.30.

On 21 June 2008, she competed for the Czech Republic at the 2008 European Cup in Athletics.

Hejnová competed in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She qualified for the second round with the thirteenth fastest overall time of 55.91 seconds and for the final with 55.17. In the final she finished seventh with 54.97, only one hundredth behind her personal best at the time.

2011

She won the 400 metres hurdles at the European Team Championships with a new national record of 53.87 seconds.[3] On 8 July 2011 she improved her national record to 53.29 seconds.[4]

2012

At the 2012 London Olympics, Hejnová won originally the bronze medal for the women's 400 m hurdles, behind the winner, Russia's Natalya Antyukh, and Lashinda Demus of the United States.

In 2019, following a re-test of doping samples, Antyukh was disqualified with all her results 2013 onward deleted but her 2012 Olympic results were not affected.[5][6][7] In October 2022, Antyukh's results from 15 July 2012 on were retroactively voided. In December, it was announced that she had been stripped of her title and Demus would be upgraded to gold in her place, with Hejnová then second.[8]

2013

Hejnová won Diamond League races over 400 m Hurdles in Shanghai (53.79), Eugene (53.70), Oslo (53.60), Paris (53.23 NR), and London (53.07 NR). She also won races in Des Moines (54.41), Prague (54.55) and Ostrava (53.32). She secured maximum points for Czech Republic in the European Team Championships First League in Dublin by winning the 400 m in 51.90 seconds. On 15 August 2013 in Moscow, Hejnová became World Champion over 400 m hurdles with a new Czech record (52.83 NR).

2016

Despite winning her semi-final,[9] Hejnová came fourth in the 400-metre hurdles at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[10]

She threatened to sue Czech Post for 1 million koruna over the use of her likeness on a stamp celebrating the 2016 Olympic Games.[11] The Court of Appeal found in favour of Hejnová, leading to Czech Post paying her an undisclosed settlement.[12]

Achievements

All information from World Athletics profile.[1]

International competitions

Hejnová at the Anniversary Games meet in London in 2013
Hejnová races 400 m hurdles at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London
Representing  Czech Republic
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 5th 400 m hurdles 58.42
2003 World Youth Championships Sherbrooke, Canada 1st 400 m hurdles 57.54
European Junior Championships Tampere, Finland 3rd 400 m hurdles 58.30
8th 4 × 400 m relay 3:44.55
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 2nd 400 m hurdles 57.44
9th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:37.89
2005 European Junior Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 1st 400 m hurdles 55.89
– 4 × 400 m relay DNF
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 22nd (sf) 400 m hurdles 57.29
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 13th (sf) 400 m hurdles 56.39
10th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:34.47
2007 European U23 Championships Debrecen, Hungary 3rd 400 m hurdles 55.93
World Championships Osaka, Japan 13th (sf) 400 m hurdles 55.04
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 7th 400 m 53.16
4th 4 × 400 m relay 3:34.53
Olympic Games Beijing, China 7th 400 m hurdles 54.97
2009 World Championships Berlin, Germany 11th (sf) 400 m hurdles 54.99
2010 World Indoor Championships Doha, Qatar 12th (h) 400 m 53.56
2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:30.05
European Championships Barcelona, Spain 4th 400 m hurdles 54.30
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 3rd 400 m hurdles 54.49
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:26.02
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 2nd 400 m hurdles 53.38
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:27.77
2013 European Indoor Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 4th 400 m 52.12
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:28.49
World Championships Moscow, Russia 1st 400 m hurdles 52.83
11th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:30.48
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 15th (h) 800 m 2:05.34
4th 4 × 400 m relay 3:32.08
World Championships Beijing, China 1st 400 m hurdles 53.50
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 4th 400 m hurdles 53.92
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 2nd 400 m 52.42
World Championships London, United Kingdom 4th 400 m hurdles 54.20
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 13th (sf) 400 m hurdles 56.03
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 5th 400 m hurdles 54.23

Circuit wins and titles

400 metres hurdles wins, other events specified in parentheses

National titles

References

  1. ^ a b "Zuzana HEJNOVÁ – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Zuzana Hejnová". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. ^ "European Athletics – Event Website". Sportresult.com. 18 June 2011.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Error 200 | World Athletics".
  5. ^ "London 2012 400m hurdles women Results - Olympic athletics".
  6. ^ Two Olympic champions among four Russians with new doping charges from Associated Press, via Sky Sports.
  7. ^ CAS Media Release (tas-cas.org)
  8. ^ "Russia's Antyukh stripped of London 2012 gold". BBC Sport. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Czech Zuzana Hejnova finds hurdles form at right time". The Indian Express. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Dalilah Muhammad and Ryan Crouser claim golds on dazzling night for USA". The Guardian. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Czech athlete threatens to sue over postage stamp image". Stamp and Coin Mart. Warners Group Publications. February 2018. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Hejnová a Česká pošta uzavřely smír ve sporu o známku k OH". Ceskenoviny.cz (in Czech). 30 October 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
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Awards
Preceded by Women's European Athlete of the Year
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Czech Athlete of the Year
2013
2015 		Succeeded by