CASLAVSKA, VERA

born May 3, 1942, Prague, Czech. [now in Czech Republic] Czech gymnast who won a total of 35 medals, including 22 gold medals, at the Olympic Games and in world and European championships in the 1950s and '60s. Cslavsk began her athletic career as a figure skater, but at the age of 15 she turned to gymnastics, first appearing in international competition at the 1958 world championships, where she won a silver medal in the team event. She won the European title on the balance beam in the 1959 world championships and finished a close second to the Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina at the 1962 world championships. Cslavsk placed first overall in gymnastics at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, also taking gold medals in the beam and the vault. In the 1965 and 1967 world championships she won every gymnastic event. At the 1966 world championships she contributed to the Czech team's victory over the Soviets, winning the gold in the combined exercises. She closed her career spectacularly at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, winning gold medals in the combined exercises and the uneven bars, the floor exercise, and the vault. She also won a silver medal in the balance beam and shared a team silver. After the Games she married the Czech middle-distance runner Josef Odlozil.