Ivana Mladkova

A two time Olympic veteran and a gold medalist at the European Championships, Ivana Mladkova is a Slovakian sprint canoe athlete. She won her first International Canoe Federation event in 2005 and continues to see international success in canoeing competitions.

Born in Bojnice, Slovakia in 1985, Mladkova began making an impact in sprint canoeing competitions in the mid-2000s. After winning silver at the European Championships in Poznan, Poland in 2005, she won her first gold at the event in 2008 in Milan, Italy. An expert in the K2-200M sprint, she often competes alongside Martina Kohlova, resulting in one of the most successful duos in the history of canoe sprinting in Slovakia. She appeared in her first Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, competing in the 500 metre sprint with Kohlova. The two returned to compete in the K2-500M in London in 2012, and Mladkova also made her Olympics singles debut in the 200 metre singles race. Mladkova has seen consistent success in the World Championships and European Championships throughout her career. She won three medals at the World Championships and six total medals in the European Championships with most coming in the K2-200M event.

Mladkova continues to make yearly appearances in International Canoe Federation tournaments at the senior level. In 2019, she took home gold and silver medals at World Cup events and earned silver in the K1-500M at the World Championships.