Prague (AP/UNB) — Dana Zatopkova, an Olympic javelin champion and the wife of running great Emil Zatopek, has died. She was 97.
The Czech Olympic Committee said Zatopkova died Friday. No details about the cause of death were immediately given.
Zatopkova was born on the same day as her husband, and the two formed one of the best known sports couples in the world. They married in October 1948.
Four years later, Zatopkova won gold in the javelin at the Helsinki Olympics. Zatopek earned three gold medals at the same games, winning the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and the marathon.
Zatopek died in 2000.
“We had beautiful years together with Emil,” she once said. “We had a lot of fun together.”
Zatopkova also won silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics and won European titles in 1954 and 1958.
“Zatopkova was an excellent athlete but also a great person,” said Jiri Kejval, the head of the Czech Olympic Committee. “She was a role model for generations of Olympians.”
