Jan Zelezny donates Javelin to IAAF (© c)
Czech Republic’s Jan Zelezny, the living legend of the men’s Javelin Throw, has donated a competition 800gm javelin to the IAAF Humanitarian project Athletics for a Better World.
The 3-time World champion and 3-time Olympic champion handed his donation to Karel Pilny, President of the National Athletic Federation of the Czech Republic, in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
A superb competitor, Zelezny won the gold medal at three consecutive Olympic Games (from 1992 to 2000) after he had come second at his first Olympic appearance back in Seoul 1988. After struggling with injury he managed a decent ninth at last year’s Athens Olympic Games.
Zelezny’s victorious World Championships series is just as glorious since the 39-year-old won gold in Stuttgart 1993, Gothenburg 1995 and Edmonton 2001.
Throughout an awesome career which has stretched almost two decades, Zelezny has set no fewer than five World records and currently holds seven of the ten all-time best performances.
Zelezny was honoured as the World Athlete of the Year in 2000 and elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in Athens in 2004.
Zelezny’s autographed javelin will be auctioned at the end of the year and all profits donated to the United Nations Associations: FAO, UNICEF and WFP.
