Birth Date: | 13 January 1988 |
Birth Place: | Klatovy, Czechoslovakia[1] |
Height: | 1.99 m |
Weight: | 100 kg |
Sport: | Athletics |
Event: | Javelin throw |
Coach: | Jan Železný |
Pb: | 88.32 m (2017) |
Petr Frydrych (in Czech pronounced as /ˈpɛtr̩ ˈfrɪdrɪx/; born 13 January 1988) is a Czech track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal best of 88.32 m was set at the 2017 World Championships, where he won the bronze medal.[2] He is coached by world record holder and three-time Olympic Champion Jan Železný.[3]
Frydrych competed in the 2005 World Youth Championships, 2006 World Junior Championships[4] and 2007 European Junior Championships, without much success.
In 2009 Frydrych, by then under Železný's guidance,[5] exploded to the international elite. He improved his personal best from 75.55 to 84.96[4] and placed second in the European U23 Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, passed in the last round by Finland's Ari Mannio.[6] He qualified for the final at the World Championships in Berlin, finishing 10th with a 79.29 effort.[7]
The 2010 season started well for Frydrych, who first improved to 85.60 at the May 23 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, losing to Norway's two-time Olympic Champion Andreas Thorkildsen by only half a metre.[8] Only four days later, he threw a world-leading 88.23 metres at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava.[9] In javelin's first appearance in the inaugural IAAF Diamond Race, at Oslo on June 4, Frydrych again placed a narrow second to Thorkildsen, this time with a mark of 85.33.[10]
Frydrych was second to Thorkildsen once more at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York City,[11] but a back injury spoiled the rest of 2010 for him, and he only placed 10th at the European Championships.[12]
Frydrych won the 2011 Diamond League opener in Doha, Qatar with a mark of 85.32, almost a metre ahead of Robert Oosthuizen.[13]