Czechs mourn gymnastics great Vera Caslavska

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vp0t8FJ-uog

(12 Sep 2016) Czechs on Monday paid a final farewell to the late Vera Caslavska, a seven-time Olympic gymnastics champion best remembered for her protest against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. • At an hour and a half-long ceremony organized by the Czech Olympic Committee, Czech leaders, including Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, athletes and friends packed the National Theater in Prague, while the bells of the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral - the country's biggest and most famous church that dates back to the 10th century - tolled to honour her. • On the theater's stage, Caslavska was memorialised in a ballet, a theatre performance, a documentary and memories of fellow athletes and friends. • Bronze medalist at the Rio games in sculling, Ondrej Synek, said Caslavska remembered to congratulate him after he medalled. • In front of the theatre, people were watching the ceremony on a giant screen with a Caslavska big black and white photo on the side. Mourners have been coming to the site since Friday to bring flowers, light candles and sign books of condolence. • Caslavska won three Olympic gold medals in Tokyo in 1964, establishing herself as a dominant gymnast. She triumphed in four disciplines at the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. • She engaged in a silent protest against the Soviet invasion. Standing on the top of the medal stand alongside Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik, with whom she shared the gold in the floor exercise, Caslavska turned her head down and to the right when the Soviet national anthem was played. • The gesture made her the star of the games but at home, she faced persecution from the post-invasion hard-line communist regime. • Caslavska died on 30 August at age 74 after battling cancer of the pancreas. • A private family funeral took place on Thursday, according to Caslavska's wishes. • • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

#############################

New on site