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 World Single Distances Championships 16 7 4 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 Silver 2025 Hamar 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

Sáblíková (left) with Ester Ledecká at Old Town Square in Prague after their return from Olympic Games in South Korea

Martina Sáblíková (born 27 May 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 Olympics and is a multiple European and World allround champion.

She made history in 2010 by becoming the first Czech athlete to win two gold medals at one Winter Olympic Games. Besides speed skating, Martina also trains in inline speed skating and road cycling. She uses cycling as part of her summer training for the skating season. In cycling, she is especially good at individual time trials and has won many Czech national titles. Martina is the older sister of fellow speed skater Milan Sáblík.

Martina's Skating Journey

As a young skater, Martina Sáblíková already showed great talent. In 2005, she placed seventh in the 5000-meter race at the World Single Distance Championships. She even set a junior world record for the 3000-meter race in Salt Lake City in November 2005. Martina was also the Czech youth champion several times.

Early Success and Records

In 2006, Martina finished fourth overall at the European allround championships. She surprised everyone by winning the 5000-meter race. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she came in fourth in the 5000-meter event. She was very close to winning a bronze medal.

Martina's strong performances quickly moved her up in the world rankings. In March 2006, she set a new world record in the 10,000-meter race. She beat the previous record by more than 11 seconds!

Becoming a European Champion

The next year, Martina won her first big competition, the 2007 European Speed Skating Championships. She set a new outdoor world record score. She won both the 3000-meter and 5000-meter races with new outdoor world record times. Later that season, she won two gold medals at the 2007 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City. There, she set another world record in the 5000-meter event.

Martina Sáblíková at the 2007 World Championships in Heerenveen.

In March 2007, Martina became the first female speed skater to complete the 10,000-meter race in under 14 minutes. She improved her own world record by almost 20 seconds! Martina has also been named the Sportsperson of the Year of the Czech Republic twice.

Despite an injury in late 2007, Martina had a great season. She won six out of seven World Cup races in the 3000-meter and 5000-meter distances. In 2008, she earned a bronze medal at the European allround championships. She also won gold in the 5000-meter race at the World Single Distance Championships in Nagano, Japan.

In 2009, Martina won gold at the 2009 World Allround Speed Skating Championships. This was her first world allround medal. She also helped her team win the team pursuit competition at the World Cup Final, setting a new Czech national record.

Olympic Gold Medals

Martina Sáblíková became an Olympic champion at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. She won two gold medals in the 3000-meter and 5000-meter races. She also earned a bronze medal in the 1500-meter race.

She successfully defended her 5000-meter title at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She also won a silver medal in the 3000-meter race. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, she won another silver medal in the 5000-meter event. Martina continued her Olympic success by winning a bronze medal in the 5000-meter race 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 has achieved all this even though there are no speed skating rinks in the Czech Republic. Her coach, Petr Novák, had to come up with creative ways for her to train.

2025 World Championships

Martina Sáblíková competed in the 2025 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Hamar, Norway. Even though she was battling an illness, she chose to compete. She finished fifth in the women's 5000-meter race. This was the first time in her career that she did not win a medal in this event. Martina said she wanted to "leave with honour" and had plans to retire after the next season.

Martina's Records

Personal Best Times

Martina has set many personal best times in her career:

• 500 meters: 39.23 seconds (2015)
• 1000 meters: 1:15.86 (2015)
• 1500 meters: 1:53.44 (2015) - This is a Czech National Record.
• 3000 meters: 3:52.02 (2019) - This is a World Record!
• 5000 meters: 6:41.18 (2020) - This is a Czech National Record.
• 10,000 meters: 13:48.33 (2007) - This is the best performance ever for women, but it's not an official distance for a world record.

World Records Set by Martina

Martina has held several world records:

• 10,000 m: 14:08.28 (2006)
• 5000 m: 6:45.61 (2007)
• 10,000 m: 13:48.33 (2007)
• 5000 m: 6:42.66 (2011)
• 3000 m: 3:53.31 (2019)
• 5000 m: 6:42.01 (2019)
• 3000 m: 3:52.027 (2019)
• 5000 m: 6:41.18 (2020)

Other Sports: In-line Skating and Cycling

Martina Sáblíková also enjoys inline speed skating and cycling. She uses these sports to stay fit during the summer. In 2004, she placed 16th at the Junior Inline Speed Skating World Championships. She has won Czech national championships in inline speed skating.

In cycling, she won a bronze medal in the individual time trial at the European U23-Junior Road Cycling Championships in 2007. She also won gold at the Czech Road and Time Trial National Championship in 2010.

See also

In Spanish: Martina Sáblíková para niños