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| Czech legend DanaZátopková was a named a national winner of the EuropeanAthletics Women's Leadership Award in 2010. |
Sixty years ago, Czech javelin thrower Dana Zátopková was one of the stars of the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, the city which this summer will stage the 2012 European Athletics Championships.
Zátopková took the gold medal in her specialist event, just a few minutes after her husband Emil had won the 5000m, her first major success in a career that then saw her win gold medals at the 1954 and 1958 European Athletics Championships and also set a world record of 55.73m on home soil in the Czech capital Prague, where she now lives.
In an interview with the international news agency Associated Press, which can be read here, the 89-year-old Zátopková reflects on her athletics career and her life with her famous husband, who recently became one of the 12 inaugural members of the IAAF Hall of Fame.
The 2012 European Athletics Championships will be held in the Finnish capital from27 June – 1 July.