Nationality: | Slovak |
Sport: | Track and Field |
Event: | Shot put, discus throw |
Birth Date: | 6 March 1957 |
Birth Place: | Trnava, Czechoslovakia |
Pb: | Shot put: 16.98m (1985, NR) Discus throw: 64m (1984, NR) |
Gabriela Hanuláková (6 March 1957 – 22 January 2024) was a Slovak track and field athlete and athletic coach. Until her death in 2024, she held Slovak national records in shot put and discus throw.[1]
Gabriela Hanuláková was born on 6 March 1957 in Trnava. In the beginning of her career she competed out of her hometown but from 1977 she competed for Slávia Bratislava. She debuted internationally at the 1975 European Athletics Junior Championships in Athens, where she finished eighth in shot put. At the 1985 Summer Universiade in Kobe she placed fifth in the same discipline. Hanuláková became the Slovak champion in shot put eight times and six times in discus throw. In 1986 she became the Czechoslovak champion in discus throw, interrupting 5 years long dominance of Zdeňka Šilhavá.
Hanuláková was the first Slovak woman to beat the thresholds of 15 and 16 meters in shot put as well as 50 and 60 meters in discus throw. In shot put she improved Slovak national record nine times and in discus throw thirteen times. As of 2024, she still holds the national record in both disciplines. [2]
After retiring from active athletics, she was active as a coach. Among others, she was a coach of the hurdler Martin Kučera.
In November 2023 she was awarded the European Athletics Women Leadership Award.[3]
Hanuláková died on 22 January 2024, at the age of 66.[4]