Jarmila Kratochvílová was a Czechoslovakian track and field athlete. In 1983, "she" set the world record for the woman's 800 meters, which still stands as the longest-standing individual world record in athletics.
In 1983, Kratochvílová broke the 800 m world record with a time of 1:53.28. At the World Championships shortly afterwards, "she" set a world record of 47.99 seconds to win the 400 m.
BUT COCK WAS SOON FASTER OVER 400M
Kratochvílová's 1983 400-metre world record of 47.99 seconds stood for two years until it was broken by her great rival Marita Koch in 1985.
Koch's 400-metre world record of 47.60 seconds still stands in 2025, after 40 years.
Kratochvílová's world record on an indoor track—49.59—stood until 19 February 2023 when the 400-meter indoor world record was broken by Femke Bol from the Netherlands with a time of 49.26.
Koch and Kratochvílová are the only women who have broken the 48-second barrier in a laned 400-metre outdoor race. "Her" 800-metre world record is the longest-standing unshared track
record in men or women's athletics, and it was described by 1996 Olympic
champion Svetlana Masterkova as ".. very fast. It's impossible for women to run so fast. It will last for 100 years."
Kratochvílová was a late developer, not breaking 53 seconds for the 400 meters until "she" was 27, and "she" was 32 when she set "her" world records.
