Eva Bosáková-Hlaváčková, née Věchtová (18 December 1931 – 10 January 1991) was a gymnast from Czechoslovakia whose career spanned at least from the 1954 World Championships to the 1962 World Championships. Her father was also a gymnast for the Czech national team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.[1]

Eva Bosáková
Eva Bosáková circa 1960
Personal information
Born(1931-12-18)18 December 1931
Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
Died10 January 1991(1991-01-10) (aged 59)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Sport
Country Czechoslovakia
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Balance Beam
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne Balance Beam
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Team
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1958 Moscow Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 1962 Prague Balance Beam
Silver medal – second place 1954 Rome All-Around
Silver medal – second place 1954 Rome Balance Beam
Silver medal – second place 1954 Rome Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 1958 Moscow Team
Silver medal – second place 1958 Moscow All-Around
Silver medal – second place 1958 Moscow Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 1962 Prague Team
Silver medal – second place 1962 Prague Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Rome Team
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1957 Bucharest Balance Beam
Bronze medal – third place 1957 Bucharest Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 1959 Krakow Floor Exercise

During the time period of 1958-1962, Bosakova and her famous teammate Věra Čáslavská were always the two highest-scoring Czechoslovakian women gymnasts at the largest, most prestigious championships during those years - the 1958 World Championships, 1959 European Championships, 1960 Olympics, 1961 European Championships, and 1962 World Championships. As a very strong "one-two punch", they continued the Czechoslovakian legacy in the sport of Women's Artistic Gymnastics established by the sport's first-ever Women's World All-Around Champion Vlasta Děkanová, and others such as Zdeňka Veřmiřovská, Matylda Pálfyová, and Zdeňka Honsová. Bosáková and Čáslavska led the Czechoslovakian women's gymnastics team to three successive World/Olympic silver medals in a row (1958 Worlds, 1960 Olympics, 1962 Worlds), therefore being the foremost challengers to the dominant Soviet women's team during that era.

Grave of Eva Bosáková at Vinohrady Cemetery in Prague

On balance beam, where she is credited for being the first woman gymnast to compete a cartwheel (at the 1956 Olympics), she was World (1962) and Olympic (1960) champion, and she was good enough on all four events combined to become All-Around silver medalist at two consecutive World Championships (1958, 1962).

After her competitive career was over, Bosakova became a member of the Czechoslovak Song and Dance Ensemble and later became a coach in her home country. She starred in the 1963 film Something Different, directed by Věra Chytilová.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Eva Bosáková". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
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