Jan Gajdoš (27 December 1903 – 19 November 1945) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

, representing

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He competed in two Olympic Games and five

gymnastics World Championships Gymnastics World Championships refers to a number of different world championships for each of the disciplines in competitive gymnastics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) organizes World Championships for six disciplines: acrobatic ...

Competitive career

His first Olympics was in 1928, where he took silver in the team competition.

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

won the competition. Individually, he won no medals, but he finished fourth in the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...

, and eighth in the

rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

. At his next Olympics, in 1936, he again won no medals, but the team finished fourth in the team competition. At the World Championships, he took three golds in the team competition; in 1926, 1930 and 1938. He also took a team silver in 1934. Individually, he took two silver medals in 1926. In 1930, he took overall silver, behind

Josip Primožič Josip "Jože" Primožič (7 February 1900, in Ljubljana – 18 August 1985, in Maribor) was a Yugoslavian gymnast of Slovene ethnicity. He took part in three Olympic Games and three World Championships for Yugoslavia. This gave him a total of ...

, and also won bronze in the pommel horse and rings. In 1934, he won no individual medals, but took sixth place overall. In his last World Championships, in 1938, he won gold both in the individual all-around and floor exercise, as well as top-8 place finishings on 4 of the 5 other apparatuses.

Legacy

An active member of

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

organization, during World War II he was an active member of Sokol resistance group. He died shortly after the end of World War II, after being put on a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...

by the Nazi Germans. From 15–16 November 2008, an international gymnastics event was arranged in memory of Gajdoš; ''Jan Gajdoš Memorial 2008'' in Brno.Jan Gajdoš Memorial 2008
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gajdos, Jan 1903 births 1945 deaths Czech male artistic gymnasts Czechoslovak male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Czechoslovakia Olympic silver medalists for Czechoslovakia Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1936 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Brno Olympic medalists in gymnastics Czech resistance members Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Prisoners of Nazi concentration camps