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VERA CÁSLAVSKÁ
Vera Cáslavská (born May 3, 1942) is a Czech gymnast. Blonde, cheerful and possessing impressive stage presence,
she was generally popular with the public and won a total of 22 international titles. She is the most decorated Czech gymnast in
history and is one of only two female gymnasts, along with Soviet Larissa Latynina, to
win the all-around gold medal at two consecutive Olympics. She was also the 1966 all-around World Champion. Cáslavská has
the distinction of holding more Olympic individual event titles than any other gymnast, a record she has now held for over 40 years.
Born in Prague and originally a figure skater, Cáslavská debuted internationally at the 1958 World Championships,
winning a silver medal in the team event. She first participated in the Olympic Games in 1960, also winning a silver medal with the
Czechoslovakian team. By 1962, she fought for the all-around title at the World Championships, held off only by
Larissa Latynina.
Cáslavská at her peak at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, clearly winning the overall title and taking gold medals
in the balance beam and the vault, in addition to another silver medal in the team event. She would finally win a team gold at the 1966
World Championships, breaking the Soviet monopoly in that event.
She was again dominant at the 1968 Summer Olympics, winning medals in all six events. She defended her all-around title and won
additional gold medals on the floor, uneven bars and vault, as well as two silvers, for the team competition and balance beam. Her use of the
"Jarabe tapatío" as the music for her floor routine made her immensely popular with the Mexican crowd. Shortly after the end of the
competition, Cáslavská married runner Josef Odlozil, who had been a silver medalist at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. The
ceremony, which took place at the Mexico City Cathedral, drew a crowd of thousands. Cáslavská was cited as being the most
popular female athlete at the Olympics.
Cáslavská's wins at the 1968 Olympics were particularly poignant because of the political turmoil in Czechoslovakia.
She had publicly voiced her strong opposition to Communism and the Soviet invasion, and had signed Ludvik Vaculik's anti-Communist protest
manifesto "Two Thousand Words" in the spring of 1968. Consequently, to avoid being arrested, she spent the weeks leading up to the Olympics
hiding in the mountain town of Sumperk, and was only granted permission to travel to Mexico City at the last minute.
At the Olympics, where she once again faced Soviet opposition, áslavská continued to subtly voice her views. After
appearing to have won the gold medal on floor outright, the judging panel curiously upgraded the preliminary scores of Soviet
Larisa Petrik, and declared a tie for the gold instead. All of this occurred on the heels of another very controversial judging
decision that cost Cáslavská the gold on beam, instead awarding the title to Soviet rival
Natalia Kuchinskaya. Clearly disheartened and angered by the politics that favored her
sworn enemies, she protested during both medal ceremonies by quietly turning her head down and away during the playing of the Soviet
national anthem.
Her countrymen revered her for her brave demonstration on the world's biggest stage. Her federation, however, was none too pleased.
For her consistent support of the Czechoslovak democratization movement (the so-called "Prague Spring") in 1968, and during the purges
which followed the Soviet-led invasion in August 1968, she was deprived of the right to travel abroad and participate in public sport
events both in Czechoslovakia and abroad. Cáslavská was effectively forced into retirement, and was considered a
"persona non grata" for many years in her home country.
Czech authorities refused to publish her autobiography, and insisted that it be heavily censored when it was released in Japan.
She was granted leave to work as a coach in Mexico, but reportedly only when the Mexican government threatened to cease oil exports.
In the late 1980s, following pressure from Juan Antonio Samaranch, the president of the International Olympic Committee, who presented her
with the Olympic Order, Cáslavská was finally allowed to work as a gymnastics coach and judge in her home country.
After the fall of Communism in November 1989, Cáslavská's status improved dramatically. She became President Havel's
adviser and Honorary President of the Czech-Japan Association. Later, after leaving the President's Office, she was elected President
of the Czech Olympic Committee. In 1995 she was appointed to the IOC membership committee.
Cáslavská has received many accolades for her contributions to the sport of gymnastics. In addition to the Olympic Order,
she was awarded a 1989 Pierre du Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy by UNESCO and was noted at the ceremony for her "exemplary dignity."
In 1995 she was honored with the Czech Republic's Medal of Merit. She was inducted into the
International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1991
and the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1998.
As of 2007, Cáslavská resides in Prague, and has opted to remain largely out of the public eye.
For more information, visit her
profile page on the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique website.
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