Hana MASKOVA

Hana Mašková took up skating at a young age and made her international début at the 1963 European championships at the age of 13. Although Mašková had a quite brief sporting career, ending it before her 20th birthday, Mašková became one of the sporting idols in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s along with Věra Čáslavská. During her career, Mašková won an Olympic bronze in 1968, World Championships bronzes in 1967 and 1968, a European title in 1968 and European Championships silvers in 1967 and 1969, and also won the Czechoslovakian titles in 1965-69. Mašková turned professional in 1969, and joined the Holiday on Ice tour, but left the tour after two years in 1971. Known for her love of driving cars at high speeds, on 31 March 1972, Mašková lost control of her car near the village of Vouvray en route from Tours to Poitiers and rammed a military truck. Mašková, who was found to be drunk at the time, died instantly on the scene.