Contents
Athlete
Věra Čáslavská
Famoose for
Winning seven Olympic gymnastics golds and protesting the 1968 invasion.
Tokyo · Mexico City
- Born
- 3 May 1942
- Birthplace
- Prague, Czechoslovakia
- Died
- 30 August 2016
More people
Věra Čáslavská
Věra Čáslavská was a Czechoslovak gymnast whose sporting success and political courage made her a national figure.
Early life
Prague
Grew up in Prague.
Early training
Practised figure skating before gymnastics.
Career
- 1950s
International start
Entered the national gymnastics team.
- 1964–1968
Olympic champion
Won successive all-around titles.
- After 1989
Public service
Returned to prominent sports-administration roles.
Achievements
Tokyo
Won three Olympic golds.
Mexico City
Won four Olympic golds.
All-around defence
Retained her Olympic all-around title.
Beyond gymnastics
Protest
Turned away during Soviet medal ceremonies after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Administration
Later led the Czech Olympic Committee.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Kroon, Ron / Anefo. CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
