Zdenek RUZICKA

Zdeněk Růžička took up gymnastics at the age of four and soon demonstrated considerable talent in the sport. His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he was too young to serve and Sokol activities were banned, so he worked instead. He was then chosen to represented Czechoslovakia at the 1948 London Olympics, where he won bronze medals on the rings and the floor exercise and came in sixth in the team all-around and seventh individually. He returned to the Games twice more, in 1952 and 1956, but never again reached the podium, with his closest approach coming when the Czechoslovakian team placed fourth in the team all-around in 1956. That same year, he was selected to be his nation’s flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony. He retired the following year, but continued to coach and train gymnasts at, and even serve two terms as president of, his club Sokol Brno 1.

Růžička also competed at the 1954 and 1955 World Championships, and was a three-time (1948, 1954, and 1956) individual all-around national champion. By career, he worked in a brick factory, having studied ceramics at school. His wife, Matylda Matoušková-Šínová, was also a two-time Olympic medal-winning gymnast.