The story of Zdeněk Koubek offers a remarkable glimpse into the complexities of gender and athletics in the 1930s. Initially competing in women’s sports, Koubek set multiple world records before revealing a truth that would spark international discussion on gender identity. His journey from a record-breaking female athlete to a celebrated transgender man not only transformed his own life but also left a lasting impact on sports history.
Born on December 8, 1913, in Paskov, Czechia, Koubek entered the world into a poor Catholic family as the sixth child of a winemaker working on Count Stolberg’s estate. Although assigned female at birth due to his congenital condition, he felt from an early age that his inner identity did not match his outward appearance. During his teenage years, he found refuge in track and field. Immersing himself in the sports sections of newspapers, he cut out images of top sprinters and dedicated himself to running laps and practicing the high jump.
In 1929, while working at a haberdashery, Koubek joined a local women’s sports league. His exceptional speed soon attracted the attention of a club linked with the local university. Training for the 1934 Women’s World Games, then the largest global competition for female athletes, he excelled by winning national titles in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 800-meter races as well as in the high jump and long jump. On June 14, he set a world record in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:16.4 and later improved his record to 2:12.4. His achievements, however, sparked rumors in the press as journalists noted his noticeably “masculine” behavior. An anonymous request for Olympic doctors to verify his gender led to a suspension of his competitive sports career.
After a period away from the spotlight, Koubek reemerged in a series of biographical writings that revealed the truth he had long known. In those publications he disclosed that doctors had mistakenly assigned him female at birth, a misidentification that had complicated his life for two decades. In March 1936, after spending time in a Prague sanatorium, he underwent an operation and began living as a man under the name Zdeněk Koubek. In the wake of his transition, all the records he had achieved under his former identity were canceled from the athletic charts.
Koubek quickly became a global figure. In August 1936 he traveled to New York where he performed on Broadway and hinted at discussions with a film studio about a movie based on his life story. Later, in Paris, he shared the stage with Josephine Baker. International publications, including the New York Times and TIME, covered his new life with empathy and curiosity. While tabloid editors fixated on his “sex change,” medical experts commented that nature sometimes blurs the boundaries of sexual development.
His experience prompted Olympic officials to reexamine gender policies in sports. American sports official Avery Brundage raised concerns about female athletes who exhibited traits of the opposite sex. In response, during the Berlin Olympics of 1936 the International Amateur Athletic Federation introduced rules requiring medical examinations for athletes whose sex was in question.
After transitioning, Koubek pursued several careers to support his new life. He worked in clerical roles at a university sports office and a betting company and embarked on another international tour, performing on a stage treadmill in New York and in cabaret acts in Paris. Upon returning to Prague, he held positions at local companies during the German occupation. In 1940 he married Urša Škrobáčová and later worked at Škoda factories. In 1944 he resumed his athletic passion by joining a men’s rugby league near Prague, proving that even outside of formal competitions he still cherished sports.
Zdeněk Koubek died on June 12, 1986, at the age of seventy-two. His life not only highlights a pioneering moment in sports but also illustrates how emerging medical techniques made sex-reassignment surgery possible. Koubek remains a symbol of both personal courage and the evolving understanding of gender in athletics. His narrative continues to inspire discussions on the intersection of science, gender identity, and competitive sports.