Born in Topoľčany (now in Slovakia), she emerged as a teenager at the 1985 European Athletics Junior Championships, where she shared in the 800 m title with Maria Pintea – the pair ended the race in a dead heat of 2:03.22 minutes.

[2] She made her senior debut at the 1986 European Athletics Championships and ran a best of 2:00.61 minutes, but failed to make the final.

[4] This gained her selection for the 1987 European Athletics Indoor Championships and she made her first senior final, coming fourth and being beaten to a medal by Soviet runner Lyubov Kiryukhina.

She was the first Czechoslovak woman to win a medal at the competition – only Ivana Kubešová joined her in that feat before the country's dissolution.

[8] One week before the 1987 World Championships in Athletics she raised herself as a possible contender with another best at the Internationales Stadionfest meet in West Berlin, running 1:58.37 minutes.