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I remember the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Chances would have it so that I was lying at home on the sofa with a broken leg when the Olympics started and was at home during the entire summer Olympics. I got to see legendary long jump, Americans with clenched fists on the podium. But what I remember best was the little lady from Czechoslovakia, Vera Caslavska. She won 4 Olympic golds and took 2 silvers in 6 events. I was only 9 years old at the time, but in retrospect I have learned that this was a lady who stood up for her principles. When she protested against the Soviet intervention in Prague in the spring of 1968.

Vera Caslavska a lady with balls and chest hair

Of course, it is in a figurative sense when I write that she was a lady with balls and hair on her chest. Transfer in the sense that she dared where others failed.

It was just before the Olympics that she got the go-ahead to participate. The reason was that she spoke positively about Prague in the spring and was critical of the Soviet abuse of power and communism in general.

On floor she shared the victory with a Soviet lady. When the Soviet national anthem was played, she turned away. A protest against the Soviet military intervention in Czechoslovakia in the same year and against communism. For Vera Caslavska, the punishment was brutal. She was stripped of her passport and was not allowed to leave Czechoslovakia until after the fall of communism. But she achieved something that was perhaps more important than the 7 Olympic golds she won in 1964 and 1968. She was able to show the world what she thought about the communist system and about the Soviet intervention in Prague in the spring.

If this were a man, we would use expressions such as he has balls or chest hair. Vera was a unique gymnast and steadfast in her ideals.

After the fall of communism

After the fall of communism in 1989, Vera Caslavska had a new renaissance. She became an adviser to President Vaclav Havel and later president of the Czech Olympic Committee. she was also an IOC member.

Vera Caslavska is of course in the tour’s “Hall of fame”. International gymnastics is one of the truly great sports. Winning 6 Olympic golds, 3 Olympic silvers, as well as a number of world and European championships is an incredible sporting feat. The only Norwegian woman with Olympic gold in a really big sport is Sonja Hennie. On 30 August 2016, Vera Caslavska died.

Some claim that sports and politics do not belong together. I think sport is politics. It is often used for propaganda by the host countries, as we saw in Germany in 1936, for example. Vera is a legend, both as a gymnast and as the one who spoke out in a peaceful way.

Sources:

Wikiwand