Martina Moravcová (born 16 January 1976) is a Slovak medley, butterfly, and freestyle swimmer. She made her international swimming debut in 1991 for Czechoslovakia, and went on to compete in five consecutive Summer Olympics (1992–2008). She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, both achieved at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In the 100 metre butterfly, she finished second to Inge de Bruijn, and in the 200 metre freestyle, she finished eight one-hundredths of a second to home favourite Susie O'Neill.
Early life
[edit]Martina Moravcová was born in 1976 in Piešťany. As a child, she liked to go to the swimming pool and swim in the Váh river; when she became a young girl, she participated in yachting on Sĺňava Lake.[1] In 1995 she moved to Dallas, Texas, where she started attending Southern Methodist University.[2] She was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 1999.[3]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Moravcová represented Czechoslovakia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The youngest member of her country's delegation at 16 years old, she took part in the 100 metre butterfly and the 100 metre freestyle.[2]
In 1999, she was named the NCAA's Women's Swimmer of the Year[4] While at SMU, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top female swimmer in 1999.[5][6]
2000 Summer Olympics
[edit]Moravcová represented Slovakia at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She reached the final of the 100 metre butterfly, finishing second behind Inge de Bruijn who set a new world record in the race, to claim a silver medal.[3] In the 200 metre freestyle, Moravcová became Slovakia's first multiple Olympic medal winner after finishing second in the final for another silver. She completed the race in 1 minute, 58.32 seconds, a national record and less than a tenth of a second behind gold medallist Susie O'Neill.[7]
Later career
[edit]In 2000–01 FINA Swimming World Cup, Moravcová was the top women's winner in the FINA's World Cup series, winning eight events.[8] She repeated the achievement in 2002 and 2004.[9][10] She won her 100th World Cup gold medal in Moscow in 2005.[11]
In 2008, Moravcová headed to the Summer Olympics for the fifth time as one of only two Slovak swimmers in her nation's delegation.[12]
In 2014 she became a coach of a Slovak Swimming Camp at which she helped 700 children to achieve their goals.[13]
She is a mother to two children.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Habšudová, Zuzana. "Martina Moravcová: The Slovak Fish". Travel Spectator Slovak. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ a b Zedník, Rick (3 July 1996). "Swimming: Martina Moravcová". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ a b Hopps, David (18 September 2000). "De Bruijn doubts are double Dutch". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ "Moravcová's bio". SMU Athletics. Archived from the original on 25 December 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "Martina Moravcova Official Website". www.martinamoravcova.com. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Swimming & Diving". CWSA. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ Habšudová, Zuzana (26 September 2000). "Slovakia's first multi-medal winner". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ Whitten, Phillip (29 January 2001). "Moravcova Tops Final FINA World Cup Rankings; Balcerzak is Top American". Swimming World. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ Whitten, Phillip (28 January 2002). "Moses, Moravcova Win $50,000, Top World Cup Prize". Swimming World. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ "M&M Win World Cup Crowns — That's Moses and Moravcova". Swimming World. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ Unger, Mike (29 January 2005). "Moravcova Takes Her 100th World Cup Title to Highlight Day 2 Action in Moscow". Swimming World. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ Liptáková, Jana (7 July 2008). "Moravcová: I am still a very competitive person". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Martina Moravcová odovzdala svoje skúsenosti už 700 deťom". 22 August 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2019.