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

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

, representing

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 ...

. 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 Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) organizes World Ch ...

Competitive career

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

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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 syst ...

, and eighth in the rings. 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, 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 the Sokol 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, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

by the Nazi Germans. In 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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* * * {{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 Gymnasts from Brno Olympic medalists in gymnastics Czech resistance members Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Prisoners of Nazi concentration camps