Věra Čáslavská
Věra Čáslavská won a total of 11 medals in her three Olympic appearances, making her Czechoslovakia’s most decorated Olympic athlete. Her protest during the 1968 Olympics, however, is what she is best famous for. In protest of the Soviet invasion of her homeland, Čáslavská moved her head away from the USSR flag while sharing the podium with Soviet gymnast Larisa Petrik.
Věra Čáslavská
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Olga Korbut
In 1972, Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut performed the “Korbut flip,” a feat in which the athlete stands on the high bar and backflips off of it before re-grasping the bar. Because it was deemed excessively risky, the maneuver has been removed from the competition.
Olga Korbut
