Martina Sáblíková facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Martina Sáblíková

Sáblíková in 2018
Personal information
Nationality	Czech
Born	(1987-05-27) 27 May 1987 (age 38) Nové Město na Moravě, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.71 m
Weight	54 kg
Sport
Country	Czech Republic
Sport	Speed skating, cycling
Event(s)	3000 m, 5000 m
Club	NOWIS
Medal record Women's speed skating Representing  Czech Republic Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 2 2 World Championships 5 2 1 European Championships 5 3 4 Winter Universiade 2 0 0 World Junior Championships 0 1 0 Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver 3000 m Gold 2010 Vancouver 5000 m Gold 2014 Sochi 5000 m Silver 2014 Sochi 3000 m Silver 2018 Pyeongchang 5000 m Bronze 2010 Vancouver 1500 m Bronze 2022 Beijing 5000 m World Single Distance Championships Gold 2007 Salt Lake City 3000 m Gold 2007 Salt Lake City 5000 m Gold 2008 Nagano 5000 m Gold 2009 Vancouver 5000 m Gold 2011 Inzell 5000 m Gold 2012 Heerenveen 3000 m Gold 2012 Heerenveen 5000 m Gold 2013 Sochi 5000 m Gold 2015 Heerenveen 3000 m Gold 2015 Heerenveen 5000 m Gold 2016 Kolomna 3000 m Gold 2016 Kolomna 5000 m Gold 2017 Gangneung 5000 m Gold 2019 Inzell 3000 m Gold 2019 Inzell 5000 m Gold 2020 Salt Lake City 3000 m Silver 2009 Vancouver 3000 m Silver 2011 Inzell 3000 m Silver 2013 Sochi 3000 m Silver 2017 Gangneung 3000 m Silver 2020 Salt Lake City 5000 m Silver 2021 Heerenveen 3000 m Bronze 2023 Heerenveen 3000 m Bronze 2023 Heerenveen 5000 m Bronze 2024 Calgary 3000 m Bronze 2024 Calgary 5000 m World Allround Championships Gold 2009 Hamar Allround Gold 2010 Heerenveen Allround Gold 2015 Calgary Allround Gold 2016 Berlin Allround Gold 2019 Calgary Allround Silver 2012 Moscow Allround Silver 2017 Hamar Allround Bronze 2011 Calgary Allround European Championships Gold 2007 Collalbo Allround Gold 2010 Hamar Allround Gold 2011 Collalbo Allround Gold 2012 Budapest Allround Gold 2016 Minsk Allround Silver 2015 Chelyabinsk Allround Silver 2017 Heerenveen Allround Silver 2019 Collalbo Allround Bronze 2008 Kolomna Allround Bronze 2009 Heerenveen Allround Bronze 2014 Hamar Allround Bronze 2021 Heerenveen Allround Winter Universiade Gold 2013 Trentino 3000 m Gold 2013 Trentino 5000 m World Junior Championships Silver 2006 Erfurt Allround

Martina Sáblíková (left) with Ester Ledecká after the 2018 Olympic Games.

Martina Sáblíková (born May 27, 1987) is a famous Czech speed skater. She is known for her amazing skills in long track speed skating. Martina has won many gold medals at the Winter Olympics, and she is also a multiple European and World champion.

In 2010, she became the first Czech athlete to win two gold medals at one Winter Olympic Games. Besides speed skating, Martina also competes in inline speed skating and road cycling. She uses cycling as a way to train for her skating season. In cycling, she is especially good at individual time trials. Martina has won many Czech national titles in cycling and is one of the top female time-trialists in the world. Her older brother, Milan Sáblík, is also a speed skater.

Martina's Skating Journey

Martina started showing great talent in speed skating from a young age. As a junior skater, she achieved impressive results in international competitions. In 2005, she finished seventh in the 5000 meters at the World Single Distance Championships. She even set a new junior world record for the 3000 meters in 2005.

Early Successes

In 2006, Martina competed in the European allround championships. She finished fourth overall, even beating a favorite skater in the 5000 meters. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she came in fourth place in the 5000 meters. She was very close to winning a bronze medal, missing it by just one second.

Martina's strong performances quickly made her one of the best skaters in the world. In March 2006, she set a new world record in the 10,000 meters, beating the previous best time by more than 11 seconds!

Becoming a European Champion

The next year, in 2007, Martina won her first big tournament: the 2007 European Speed Skating Championships. She set new outdoor world records in both the 3000 meters and 5000 meters. Later that season, she won two gold medals at the 2007 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City for the 3000 meters and 5000 meters. In the 5000 meters, she set another new world record of 6:45.61.

In March 2007, Martina became the first female speed skater to complete the 10,000 meters in under 14 minutes. She improved her own world record by almost 20 seconds! Her amazing achievements led her to be named the Sportsperson of the Year of the Czech Republic in both 2007 and 2009.

Even after a training injury in late 2007, Martina had a fantastic season. She won six out of seven World Cup races in the 3000 meters and 5000 meters. In 2008, she earned a bronze medal at the European allround championships in Kolomna, Russia. She also won gold in the 5000 meters at the World Single Distance Championships in Nagano, Japan.

In 2009, Martina won her first gold medal at the 2009 World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Hamar. She set a new Czech national record in the 500 meters and won both the 3000 meters and 5000 meters races.

Olympic Gold Medals

Martina's biggest successes came at the Winter Olympic Games.

• At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won three medals: two gold medals (in the 3000 and 5000 meters) and one bronze medal (in the 1500 meters). This made her the first Czech athlete to win two gold medals at the same Winter Olympics.
• She successfully defended her title in the 5000 meters at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She also won a silver medal in the 3000 meters.
• At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, she won a silver medal in the 5000 meters.
• Martina continued her Olympic success by winning a bronze medal in the 5000 meters at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Martina and her brother Milan Sáblík are special because they both held world records in speed skating at the same time! Martina holds world records in the 3000 meters, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters. What's even more impressive is that Martina has achieved all this even though there are no special speed skating rinks in the Czech Republic. Her coach, Petr Novák, had to come up with creative ways to train her.

Martina's Records

Martina has set many impressive records throughout her career.

Personal Best Times

These are Martina's fastest times in different speed skating distances:

*=The 10,000 meters is not an official distance for women, so there is no official World record for it.
Source: SpeedskatingResults.com

World Records Set by Martina

Martina has held several world records during her career:

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

Other Sports: In-line Skating and Cycling

Martina Sáblíková also trains and competes in other sports like inline speed skating and cycling. These activities help her stay fit for the speed skating season.

• In 2004, she finished 16th at the Junior Inline Speed Skating World Championships.
• She won the marathon (42.2 km) at the Czech Inline Speed Skating Championships in 2006.
• In 2007, she earned a bronze medal in individual time trial cycling at the European U23-Junior Road Cycling Championships.
• In 2010, she won gold at the Czech National Cycling Championships for both road and time trial events.

See also

In Spanish: Martina Sáblíková para niños