Former gymnast Věra Čáslavská diagnosed with cancer

Former gymnast and legendary athlete Věra Čáslavská, a seven-time Olympic champion and honorary chairwoman of the Czech Olympic Committee, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is undergoing surgery this Friday, the Olympic Committee announced. The former champion, who won three gold medals in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and added four more at the next games in Mexico, was diagnosed three weeks ago. She issued a statement thanking her children and all those who supported her, saying she had learned to fight as an athlete and would fight now. Pancreatic cancer, often fatal, affects some 1,800 people in the Czech Republic each year.

Author: Jan Velinger