Jan Gajdoš

Jan Gajdoš (27 December 1903 in Brno - 19 November 1945 in Brno) was a Czech gymnast, from the Moravian region of the former Czechoslovakia. He competed in two Olympic Games and five gymnastics World Championships.

Jan Gajdoš
Jan Gajdoš in 1928
Personal information
Country represented Czechoslovakia
Born(1903-12-27)December 27, 1903
Brno
DiedNovember 9, 1945(1945-11-09) (aged 41)
HometownPrague
ResidencePrague
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics

Competitive career

His first Olympics was in 1928, where he took silver in the team competition. Switzerland won the competition. Individually, he won no medals, but he finished fourth in the horizontal bar, and eighth in the rings. At the next Olympics, in 1932, he again won no medals, but the team finished fourth in the team competition.

From a 1932 issue of Czechoslovakian journal "Věstník Sokolský" showcasing 3 of their gymnasts, (L-R), 1938 World All-Around Men's Champion Jan Gajdoš, 1934 and 1938 World All-Around Women's Champion Vlasta Děkanová, and 1931 World All-Around Men's Champion and 1936 Olympic Rings Champion Alois Hudec, with a caption putting them forth, reading "Our Best" (translated from Czech)

At the World Championships, he took three golds in the team competition; in 1926, 1930 and 1938.[1] 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.[2] 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 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 by the Nazi Germans.[3]

Grave of Jan Gajdoš at the cemetery in Brno-Židenice

From 15–16 November 2008, an international gymnastics event was arranged in memory of Gajdoš; Jan Gajdoš Memorial 2008 in Brno.[4]

References
  1. Sport-komplett.de - World Championship competitors
  2. GYMmedia - All-around World Champions and medallists Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. Jan Gajdoš Memorial 2008
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