Věra Čáslavská (; 3 May 1942 – 30 August 2016) was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast and Czech sports official. She won a total of 22 international titles between 1959 and 1968 including seven Olympic gold medals, four world titles and eleven European championships. Čáslavská is the most decorated Czech gymnast in history and is one of only three female gymnasts, along with the Soviet Larisa Latynina and American Simone Biles, to win the all-around gold medal at two Olympics. She is the only gymnast who has swept all five European individual golds twice.
Prior to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Čáslavská lost her training facility due to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. Instead, she used potato sacks as weights and logs as beams whilst training in the forests of Hrubý Jeseník mountains in northern Moravia.
Later career
Čáslavská was revered by Czech people for her brave demonstration on the world's biggest stage, and she was awarded Czechoslovakia's Sportsperson of the Year award in 1968 (for the fourth and final time). Her federation, however, was none too pleased. For her consistent support of the Czechoslovak democratization movement (the 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. Čáslavská was effectively forced into retirement, and was considered a persona non grata for many years in her home country.
{| class="wikitable"
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!Apparatus
!Name
!Description
!Difficulty
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|Uneven bars || Čáslavská || From front support on high bar - swing backward with release and 1/1 turn (360°) to hang on high bar || C
|}
Honours
Čáslavská received numerous accolades for her contributions to the sport of gymnastics. In addition to the Olympic Order, she was awarded a 1989 Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy by UNESCO and was noted at the ceremony for her "exemplary dignity". and a ceremonial kimono from the Japanese emperor.
In 2014, she was the joint recipient (with AP journalist Iva Drapalova) of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award, awarded annually by the Prague Society for International Cooperation and Global Panel Foundation, for outstanding civic courage.
An inner main belt asteroid (26986) Caslavska
Competition history
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;"
|-
! align=center|Year
! align=center|Event
! style="width:30px;"|Team
! style="width:30px;"|AA
! style="width:30px;"|VT
! style="width:30px;"|UB
! style="width:30px;"|BB
! style="width:30px;"|FX
|-
| rowspan="1" | 1957 || align=left | Junior Championships of the Republic || || || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1958 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#CCCCFF
| align=left | World Championships || ||8 || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1959 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#F5F6CE
| align=left | European Championships || ||8 || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1960 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Czechoslovakian Spartakiade || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#98fb98;"
| align=left | Olympic Games || ||8 || || || 6||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1961 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Czechoslovakia – East Germany Dual Meet || || 4|| || || ||
|-bgcolor=#F5F6CE
| align=left | European Championships || || ||6 ||5 || 6 ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1962 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Czechoslovakia – East Germany – Ukraine (Soviet Union) Tri-Meet || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Tbilisi International || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#CCCCFF
| align=left | World Championships || || || ||5 || 5 ||
|-
| rowspan="1" | 1963 || align=left | Japan – Czechoslovakia Dual Meet || || || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1964 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Czechoslovakia – East Germany Dual Meet || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#98fb98;"
| align=left | Olympic Games || || || || 5|| ||6
|-
| align=left | United States – Czechoslovakia Dual Meet || || || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1965 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Spartakiade || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#F5F6CE
| align=left | European Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1966 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Hungary – Czechoslovakia – Britain Tri-Meet || || || || || ||
|-
| align=left | Germany – Czechoslovakia Dual Meet || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#CCCCFF
| align=left | World Championships || || || ||4 || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1967 || align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|-bgcolor=#F5F6CE
| align=left | European Championships || || || || || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1968
| align=left | Czechoslovakian Championships || || || || || ||
|- style="background:#98fb98;"
| align=left | Olympic Games || || || || || ||
|}