(ATR) Vera Caslavska, who has died of cancer aged 74, will be honored in a memorial service at the National Theater in Prague next Monday.
The family of Caslavska, who won seven Olympic medals and served as president of the Czechoslovak and later Czech Republic Olympic Committee from 1990-1996, rejected proposals for a state funeral.
Caslavska was an IOC member from 1995-2001.
Members of the public will be allowed to pay tribute to Caslavska at the National Theater after the official program ends, according to the Czech government office.
Caslavska was one of the stars of the Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968 Olympics, where she respectively won three and four gold medals. She won an additional five silver medals, her first coming in the team event at the Rome 1960 Games aged 18. Four times she was chosen as the Czechoslovak athlete of the year.
"Vera Caslavska was one of the outstanding personalities in the history of Czech sport," said Czech Olympic Committee president Jiri Kejval.
"She was always a great example to others, whether as a gymnast, due to the stand she took on social issues, or the remarkable bravery she demonstrated in her private life."
Protests Against USSR
The Czech legend remains the only gymnast to have won Olympic gold medals in each individual event. Caslavska’s competitive career, however, came to an abrupt end over her public opposition to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Caslavska’s participation at the 1968 Games took on added significance as a result of the mounting political turmoil in Czechoslovakia. The popular gymnast had publicly voiced her strong opposition to Soviet-style Communism and the USSR's invasion of her country in August 1968. She had signed a protest manifesto named "Two Thousand Words".
To avoid being arrested, she spent the weeks leading up to the October Olympic Games hiding in the Czechoslovakian mountain town of Sumperk, and was only granted permission to travel to Mexico City at the last minute.
Caslavska continued to face Soviet opposition at the 1968 Games and subtly expressed her views throughout a series of judging controversies. Disheartened and angered by the politics that favored the USSR, she protested during medal ceremonies, quietly turning her head down and away during the playing of the Soviet national anthem.
Immediately after the Mexico City Games, she married fellow Czech Olympian Josef Odlozil, the 1964 Olympic 1500m silver medalist. At a Roman Catholic ceremony in Mexico City, she was mobbed by thousands of supporters.
The same year she was runner-up to Jackie Kennedy in a poll of the world’s most popular women.
Despite her worldwide popularity, Caslavska was expelled from the Czechoslovak Physical Training Association due to her protests and opposition to the events of 1968. She fell out of favor with the authorities and had to make her living as a cleaner for some years, only later being permitted to train young gymnasts.
The National Theater in Prague, where Caslavska will be honored, was also the venue of a ceremony for Czech long-distance running legend Emil Zatopek in 2000.
Reported in Prague by Brian Pinelli
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