Věra Čáslavská was more than just a gymnast. She was a proud Czechoslovak Olympian. Born on May 3rd, 1942, and raised in Prague, Věra took pride in competing for her homeland. She was earning gold medals as a World Artistic Gymnast as early as the age of 16. Čáslavská would go on in her career to win 34 medals, 22 of which were gold. A three-time Olympic medalist, she first attended the Olympics in Rome in 1960, winning Czechoslovakia a silver medal.
Čáslavská competed again in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. This time she received 4 gold and 2 silver medals. This advancement of her talent in a mere four years is an example of her constant progress and hard work. Věra continued to improve her skills, dominating competitions and even once earning perfect 10s at the 1967 European Championships.
Čáslavská was not only devoted to her sport, she was also a proud Czech and an avid supporter of reform. As such, Věra was one of the signers of the Two Thousand Words manifesto in June of 1968, a demand for real democracy in Czechoslovakia. This document was part of a larger liberalization movement known as Prague Spring. In August of that year, Soviet Russia led an invasion of Prague to end the movement. During the invasion, 137 Czechoslovakian civilians were killed and another 500 were wounded. As one of many citizens angered by this attack on their homeland, Čáslavská spoke out against the occupation and was subsequently forced to flee to the village of Šumperk in fear of persecution. Determined to participate in the Mexico City Olympics, she spent her time training in isolation in the forest. Her competitive will was as fierce as ever, as Věra was said to have used a fallen tree as a balance beam and shoveled coal to build up and maintain her strength.
Čáslavská was eventually allowed to rejoin her team and participate in the 1968 Olympic Games. Starting strong, she won gold medals in the vault, uneven parallel bars, and individual all-around. Věra initially seemed to take the gold for floor exercises and balance beam as well; however, after the judges made decisions in favor of two Soviet gymnasts, Věra ended up taking silver for balance beam and tied for gold for floor exercises. Outraged by this, she wanted to fight back in some way. During the Soviet Union anthem, Čáslavská proceeded to turn her face downward and away from the Soviet flag. Her small act of protest made her immensely popular with Czechoslovaks and she won Czechoslovak Sportsperson of the Year later that year.
““I longed to humiliate the Soviet flag and raise my humble nation.””
Though subtle, her protest did not go unnoticed by authorities either. On her return to Prague, Čáslavská was all but forced into retirement. Blacklisted in her own community, work became hard for her to find. It wasn’t until the eventual fall of communism that she was eventually allowed to coach the National Gymnastics team. Even so, her influence did not fade.
In 1989, Čáslavská became the President of the Czechoslovakian Olympic Committee. After the separation of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia, she became the president of the Czech Olympic Committee. In 1998, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Věra Čáslavská is an inspiration to us all, showing us determination above all else.
Written by: Kelsey McDade
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