Olga Fikotová (1932–2024), Olympic gold medalist discus thrower

Olga Fikotová was an Olympic gold medal-winning and record-setting discus thrower whose romance with American athlete Hal Connolly made waves in her home country of Czechoslovakia.

• Died: April 12, 2024 (Who else died on April 12?)
• Details of death:Died at the age of 91.
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Olga Fikotová’s legacy

Born in Czechoslovakia, Olga Fikotová came into her own as an athlete during the Cold War. She was a medical student at Charles University in Prague when she was chosen to represent her country in the 1956 Olympics. She won the gold medal – the only gold that year for Czechoslovakia – and entered the world stage in the process.

As remarkable as her Olympic prowess was, her fame was fueled even more by her romance with American hammer thrower Hal Connolly, also a gold medal winner. Received favorably by Western media yet frowned upon by representatives of her own country, their 1957 wedding ultimately received the blessing of Czechoslovak President Antonín Zápotockí½ and became a media sensation. Nonetheless, Fikotová was ostracized by her teammates and not allowed to compete for Czechoslovakia afterward.

Fikotová nonetheless proved herself a world-class athlete several more times. She competed for the United States in four subsequent Olympics, even leading the American team into Olympic Stadium at the 1972 Games in Munich, Germany, where she went on to set two U.S. records. She also wrote the 1968 book “The Rings of Destiny,” detailing her romance with Connolly, before the couple divorced in 1974. Fikotová spent her later years working as a fitness trainer.

On her blossoming romance with future husband Hal Connolly

“I won the top Olympic honor. But instead of praise, the team leaders kept heaping on me criticism of my spending open-to-public, friendly times with Harold.” — Interview with PBS, 2012

Tributes to Olga Fikotová

Full obituary: The Washington Post