Hana Mašková () (26 September 1949 – 31 March 1972) 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 *Czech (surnam ...

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

who competed for

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. She was the 1968 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist (1967, 1968), and the 1968 European champion.

Career

As a child, Mašková spent her days on the ice at the

Štvanice Stadium Štvanice stadium was a sports stadium situated on Štvanice, Štvanice Island, Czech Republic, and was ranked among the oldest stadiums in Prague. The stadium was in its heyday in the first half of the 20th century, but has been in decline sin ...

. Karel Glogar, who had been instrumental in the early career of two-time World champion Ája Vrzáňová, identified her talent. Her next coach was Jaroslav Sadílek, followed by Míla Nováková in 1963. Mašková's international career started at the 1963 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The next year, she competed in the 1964 World Championships in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

. As a fifteen-year-old, she represented

at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and placed 15th. In 1967, Mašková won the silver medal at the European Championships in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, finishing second to

Gabriele Seyfert Gabriele "Gaby" Seyfert (later Rüger, then Messerschmidt, now Körner, born 23 November 1948) is a German former figure skater. She is a two-time World champion (1969, 1970), and the 1968 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first lady to succ ...

from

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(GDR). One year later, Mašková won the gold medal in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. She competed at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, winning the bronze medal behind

Peggy Fleming Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in ...

of the United States, who had already won two World titles, and Seyfert. She is the only Czech woman to win an Olympic medal in figure skating. Ája Vrzáňová invited her to join a professional show, but Mašková decided to compete one more year. She took the silver medal at the 1969 European Championships in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, behind Gabriele Seyfert. In 1969, Mašková left competition and joined the Holiday on Ice tour.

Death

On 31 March 1972, Mašková was killed in a car crash near the French town

Vouvray Vouvray (, , ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is around 9 km east of the centre of Tours. It is best known for its production of white wine, rated among the best in France. Population Education Sch ...

. Her tomb is at the

Vyšehrad cemetery Established in 1869 on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, the Vyšehrad Cemetery () is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. The center ...

in Prague, decorated by a winged female torso made by

Jan Štursa Jan Josef Štursa (15 May 1880 – 2 May 1925) was a Czechs, Czech sculptor, one of founders of modern Czech sculpture. Birth and studies Štursa was born on 15 May 1880 in Nové Město na Moravě. He studied masonry and sculpture in Hořice an ...

Competitive highlights

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maskova, Hana 1949 births 1972 deaths Czech female single skaters Figure skaters from Prague Olympic figure skaters for Czechoslovakia Figure skaters at the 1964 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1968 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Czechoslovakia Road incident deaths in France Czechoslovak female single skaters Olympic medalists in figure skating World Figure Skating Championships medalists European Figure Skating Championships medalists Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery