Gabriela Koukalová

Gabriela Koukalová,[1] née Soukalová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɡabrɪjɛla ˈkoukalovaː/ˈsoukalovaː], born 1 November 1989) is a former Czech biathlete.[2] She won two Olympic silver medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and she is a two-time World Championship winner, gold medalist at the 2015 Kontiolahti in mixed relay and gold medalist at 2017 Hochfilzen in 7.5 km sprint.[3] In the 2015/2016 World Cup season she was overall champion, and she has also taken six discipline Crystal Globes: the 2013/2014 individual title, the 2015/2016 sprint, pursuit and mass-start titles, and the 2016/17 sprint and mass start titles.

Gabriela Koukalová
Gabriela Koukalová (2010)
Personal information
Full nameGabriela Koukalová
Born (1989-11-01) 1 November 1989
Jablonec nad Nisou, Czechoslovakia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Websitehttp://gabionline.cz/
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubSG Jablonec nad Nisou
SkisFischer
World Cup debut11 December 2009
Olympic Games
Teams2 (2010, 2014)
Medals2 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams5 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Medals6 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons8 (2009/10–2016/17)
Individual victories17
All victories23
Individual podiums39
All podiums56
Overall titles1 (2015–16)
Discipline titles6:
1 individual (2013–14)
2 sprint (2015–16, 2016–17)
1 pursuit (2015–16)
2 mass start (2015–16, 2016–17)
Medal record
Women's biathlon
Representing  Czech Republic
Olympic Games
2014 Sochi12.5 km mass start
2014 SochiMixed relay
World Championships
2015 KontiolahtiMixed relay
2017 Hochfilzen7.5 km sprint
2015 Kontiolahti15 km individual
2017 Hochfilzen15 km individual
2013 Nové MěstoMixed relay
2017 Hochfilzen10 km pursuit
European Championships
2011 Ridnaun7.5 km sprint

Career

Koukalová began her biathlon career in 2005. In 2007 Koukalová became a member of the national team, and in 2008 she took part in the Biathlon Junior World Championship. Her first experience at the international level was not very good: Koukalová's shooting accuracy and ski speed were at that time not as strong as many of her peers, and her best result at the 2008 Junior Worlds was a 22nd place. Nevertheless, her coaches gave her a chance to take part in further international competitions, including the IBU Cup in the 2008/09 season. Her performances improved: Koukalová, despite some difficulties in shooting, became better than Olga Vilukhina and helped the Czech women's relay team to win a gold at the 2009 Junior World Championships.

Koukalová made her debut on the Biathlon World Cup in December 2009. Her coaches subsequently made the decision to move her back down to the IBU Cup, but her period at that level was relatively brief after she regularly took good results and won a silver medal in the sprint at the 2011 European Championships. She was selected to represent the Czech Republic in the World Cup and at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[4]

Her first significant success was in December 2011: in a World Cup mixed relay in Austria she helped to secure the Czech team second place. During the 2012–13 season she took four wins in the Biathlon World Cup.[5] She added three more wins in the 2013–14 World Cup season.[6] At the 2014 Winter Olympics, she finished fourth in both the 10 km pursuit and 15 km individual before winning silver medals in both the 12.5 km mass start and mixed relay (together with Veronika Vítková, Jaroslav Soukup and Ondřej Moravec).[7]

At the World Championships 2015 in Kontiolahti Koukalová took her first world championship title in the mixed relay as a member of the successful Czech team. In the sprint race she took 18th place with three penalties, but in the pursuit she was able to climb to fifth place. In the individual race Soukalova won a silver medal, which became her second medal at these World Championships. At the final World Cup meeting of the season in Khanty-Mansiysk Soukalova managed to win a silver medal in the mass start. In the final overall World Cup rankings for 2014/15, she finished in sixth place with 752 points.

In the 2015/2016 season Koukalová put in strong performances: at the fifth round of the World Cup on 4 January 2016, even two missed targets did not prevent her from making the podium. Gabriela showed good consistency, finishing no lower than 11th place during the season, and continued to lead the World Cup standings. In the 12.5 km mass start on 16 January 2016 she won and got her tenth victory in the Biathlon World Cup. She also helped to win a silver for the team in the 4x6 km relay on 24 January 2016, and took a third place in the mass start in Canada on 6 February 2016. In the US at Presque Isle on 11 February 2016 in sprint she got the best result showing a perfect accuracy and an excellent performance. The following days brought two gold medals in the 10 km pursuit and 4x6 km relay. Despite some poorer results in Norway, Koukalová took a better result in the sprint in Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia on 17 March 2016 clinching her the small Crystal Globe in the sprint with a total of 413 points. On the next day in the pursuit she got a fourth place, but with very good level both in speed and shooting. She also took a second small Crystal Globe in the mass start with 241 points. She led the standings in the 2015/2016 World Cup from start to finish, and won the overall Crystal Globe on 20 March 2016 with a final score of 1074 points.

The 2016/2017 season started in Östersund, Sweden on 27 November 2016, where she and her teammates took 7th place in the mixed relay. The 15 km race on 30 November 2016 brought a 17th place, but later on, on 3 December 2016, she took third place in the 7.5 km sprint, and the next day she showed even better results - winning the pursuit, showing an excellent performance both in skiing and shooting. The next medal (first place) was taken in a mass start race on December 18, 2016.

On 21 December 2017 she became the first biathlete to be named Czech Sportsperson of the Year.[8] Due to a leg injury she did not start in the 2017/2018 season, and later revealed that she will possibly not return to the World Cup ever again.[9] On 28 May 2019 she announced her retirement.

Personal life

She is the daughter of Gabriela Svobodová, a former cross-country skier, who won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 x 5 km relay at Sarajevo in 1984.[10] Later, her mother helps as a personal trainer.

Koukalová is married to a Czech professional badminton player Petr Koukal.[11] They married on 13 May 2016, in the historic unfinished church in Panenský Týnec.[12] In April 2018 she published her autobiography Jiná, in which she revealed a long history of eating disorders [9]

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[13]

Olympic Games
  • 3 medals (2 silver, 1 bronze)
Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed relay[a]
2010 Vancouver 60th – – – 16th N/A
2014 Sochi 4th 29th 4th Silver Bronze Silver
2018 Pyeongchang injured: did not compete
a. 1 The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.

World Championships
  • 6 medals (2 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed relay
2010 Khanty-Mansiysk[a] N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 7th
2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 47th 25th 22nd – 11th 11th
2013 Nové Město 12th 14th 20th 18th 10th Bronze
2015 Kontiolahti Silver 18th 5th 5th 8th Gold
2016 Oslo 5th 4th 11th 4th 6th 6th
2017 Hochfilzen Silver Gold Bronze 4th 4th 7th
a. 1 During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.

World Cup
Season Overall Sprint Pursuit Individual Mass start
Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position
2012/1324/268006th9/103136th7/82278th3/3947th5/51667th
2013/1418/226134th8/92385th6/820310th2/21201st2/35223rd
2014/1525/257526th10/102819th7/71957th3/3866th5/52004th
2015/1625/2510741st9/94131st8/83541st3/31283rd5/52411st
2016/1726/2610892nd9/93771st9/93842nd3/3954th5/52651st
2017/18injured: did not compete

Individual victories
  • 17 victories – (7 SP, 4 PU, 2 IN, 4 MS)
No. Season Date Location Discipline Level
1 2012/13 14 December 2012 Pokljuka, Slovenia7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
214 March 2013 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
316 March 2013 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia10 km pursuitWorld Cup
417 March 2013 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia12.5 km mass startWorld Cup
52013/1428 November 2013 Östersund, Sweden15 km individualWorld Cup
610 January 2014 Ruhpolding, Germany15 km individualWorld Cup
712 January 2014 Ruhpolding, Germany10 km pursuitWorld Cup
82014/1518 December 2014 Pokljuka, Slovenia7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
92015/162 December 2015 Östersund, Sweden7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
1016 January 2016 Ruhpolding, Germany12.5 km mass startWorld Cup
1111 February 2016 Presque Isle, USA7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
1212 February 2016 Presque Isle, USA10 km pursuitWorld Cup
132016/174 December 2016 Östersund, Sweden10 km pursuitWorld Cup
1418 December 2016 Nové Město, Czech Republic12.5 km mass startWorld Cup
156 January 2017 Oberhof, Germany7.5 km sprintWorld Cup
168 January 2017 Oberhof, Germany12.5 km mass startWorld Cup
1710 February 2017 Hochfilzen, Austria7.5 km sprintWorld Championships

Relay victories
  • 6 victories – (4 RL, 2 MR)
No. Season Date Location Discipline Level Teammates
1 2012/13 25 November 2012 Pokljuka, SloveniaMixed 2x6+2x7.5 km relayWorld CupVítková / Vítek / Moravec
22014/157 January 2015 Oberhof, Germany4x6 km relayWorld CupPuskarčíková / Landová / Vítková
314 January 2015 Ruhpolding, Germany4x6 km relayWorld CupPuskarčíková / Landová / Vítková
415 February 2015 Holmenkollen, Norway4x6 km RelayWorld CupPuskarčíková / Landová / Vítková
55 March 2015 Kontiolahti, FinlandMixed 2x6+2x7.5 km relayWorld ChampionshipsVítková / Šlesingr / Moravec
62015/1614 February 2016 Presque Isle, USA4x6 km relayWorld CupPuskarčíková / Charvátová / Vítková

Overall record
Result Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed
relay		 Total
Individual events Team events All events
1st place27444217623
2nd place23542314519
3rd place1223338614
Podiums512111198391756
Top 101127241823138036116
Points14464023271512342165
Others472–––13–13
DNF–––––––––
DSQ–1––––1–1
Starts18544223271513742179
* Results in all UIPMB and IBU World Cup races, Olympics and World Championships. Statistics as of 19 March 2017.[13]

Shooting
Shooting 2009–10 season[14] 2010–11 season[15] 2011–12 season[16] 2012–13 season[17] 2013–14 season[18] 2014–15 season[19] 2015–16 season[20] 2016–17 season[13] 2017–18 season[13] Career
Prone position44 / 5678.6%43 / 5479.6%36 / 4678.3%198 / 22886.8%185 / 21088.1%220 / 24490.2%229 / 24195.0%237 / 26091.2%——1192 / 133988.9%
Standing position48 / 5784.2%35 / 5464.8%38 / 4879.2%194 / 23283.6%177 / 21283.5%210 / 25084.0%220 / 24789.1%225 / 26584.9%——1147 / 136584.0%
Total92 / 11381.4%78 / 10872.2%74 / 9478.7%392 / 46085.2%362 / 42285.8%430 / 49487.0%449 / 48892.0%462 / 52588.0%——2339 / 270486.5%
* Results in all IBU World Cup races, Olympics and World Championships including relay events and disqualified races. Statistics as of 20 March 2018.[13]

References
  1. "Gabriela Soukalova, Marries Petr Koukal". Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  2. "Gabriela Soukalová – Player Profile – Biathlon – Eurosport Australia". Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  3. Bardsley, Daniel (8 February 2014). "Silver makes it a family affair". praguepost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  4. "Gabriela Soukalová Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  5. "Soukalova Surprises Sprint Field". biathlonworld.com. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  6. "Soukalova Sweeps with Mass Start Win". biathlonworld.com. 17 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
  7. Kučerová, Martina (19 February 2014). "Medailové žně nekončí. Biatlonisté berou stříbro ze smíšené štafety". lidovky.cz. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  8. Beránek, Jaroslav (21 December 2017). "Českému sportu poprvé kraluje biatlon. Sportovkyní roku je Koukalová". idnes.cz. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  9. "OLYMPIC COMPETITOR KOUKALOVÁ DONE WITH BIATHLON AS SHE FOCUSSES ON HELPING OTHERS WITH EATING DISORDERS".
  10. Kucerova, Martina (7 January 2011). "IBU Cup Opens in Nove Mesto" (Press release). International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
  11. "Soukalová bude Koukalová? Biatlonistka randí s badmintonistou". nova.cz. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  12. "Sportovní svatba roku: Koukal a Soukalová se tajně vzali" (in Czech). iDNES.cz. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  13. International Biathlon Union. Gabriela Soukalova. IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  14. 2009-10 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  15. 2010-11 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  16. 2011-12 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  17. 2012-13 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  18. 2013-14 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  19. 2014-15 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.
  20. 2015-16 Season World Cup Shooting Percentages. realbiathlon.com. Accessed 17 March 2016.

Media related to Gabriela Koukalová at Wikimedia Commons

Awards
Preceded by
Lukáš Krpálek		 Czech Athlete of the Year
2017		 Succeeded by
Ester Ledecká
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