Czechoslovakia at the Olympics
The Czechoslovakian delegation first participated in the Olympics in 1920 formerly referred to as Bohemia from twenty years prior. From 1920 to the country's dissolution in 1993, they were in every Summer Games except when they participated in the boycott of the 1984 Summer Games held in Los Angeles, California, USA. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, athletes from this region competed for the Czechia and Slovakia.
Czechoslovakia was one of the strongest and most consistent delegations in the Summer Games never ranking beyond 21st overall. As a matter of fact, the only time they ranked 21st overall was in their debut in 1920. The first-ever Czechoslovakian Olympic gold medalist was gymnast Bedřich Šupčík when he won the men's rope climbing in July 20, 1924 in Paris, France. He may be the first but he certainly will not be the last. As a matter of fact, Czechoslovakia went on to win at least one Olympic gold medal in every Summer Games meet that they attended.
The story is slightly different though when it comes to the Winter Games. Czechoslovakia has been consistently participating in the Winter Games since 1924 but they had to wait four decades before their first Olympic gold in the Winter Games. Their first-ever medal from the Winter Games came in 1928 when skier Rudolf Burkert won the bronze in the men's individual ski jumping in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Czechoslovakia won another medal, this time silver, in 1948 also in St. Moritz and another one in 1960 and a bronze in 1964. But their first gold was in 1968 when skier Jiří Raška took the top spot in men's normal hill ski jumping.
Trivia
- During the London Olympics in 1948, one of nine members of Czechoslovakia women's gymnastics team, Eliška Misáková, became ill when she arrived in London. Diagnosed with polio, she died on the last day of the Olympics, the same day her remaining teammates won the competition.
- In 1952, Czechoslovakian runner Emil Zátopek became the only man to win gold metals in the 5000 meters, the 10,000 meters, and the marathon in the same Olympiad, setting Olympic records as well. This was a remarkable achievement considering that he had never competed in a marathon before.
Related Pages
- Czechoslovakia at the Winter Olympics
- About Slovakia at the Olympics
- About the Czechia at the Olympics
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- About sport in Czechoslovakia
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