Olga Fikotova, a Czechoslovakian athlete, won the gold medal in the women’s discus throw at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, trading blows with two Soviet throwers – Nina Ponomareva and Irina Beglyakova. Fikotova’s fifth-round throw of 53.69 meters secured her the gold, surpassing her rivals’ efforts. Her romance with American athlete Harold Connolly blossomed, but they faced obstacles when she applied for permission to marry a foreigner in Czechoslovakia. With the help of national hero Emil Zatopek, she received the permit and they were married in Prague, with tens of thousands of well-wishers in attendance.
Despite initially being granted a permit to move to the US with her husband, Fikotova faced opposition from the Czech Olympic committee, who spread rumors that she had refused to train at home. This led to her teammates turning their backs on her in Rome. Making a new home in the US, she competed in the next four Olympics as Olga Connolly, finishing seventh in 1960 and sixth in 1968, as well as winning five national titles. She retired in the late 1960s but returned in 1972, breaking the US discus record twice at the age of 39. She was voted by her fellow athletes to lead the American contingent into the Olympic Stadium at the 1972 Games despite official opposition to her outspokenness about the Vietnam War.
In 1968, Fikotova published a book, “The Rings of Destiny,” detailing her love story with Hal Connolly. They divorced in 1975. In retirement, she became an environmentalist and animal rights campaigner while working as a fitness trainer. She worked as an exercise therapist at the University of California at Irvine until 2017 but refused to retire and moved to Las Vegas to work at a fitness club. Fikotova was known for her passion for the Olympics, stating that she was fortunate to realize that the world is one big family of humans. She and Connolly had four children, with one son becoming a college decathlon champion, another a Golden Gloves boxer, and a daughter playing volleyball for the US.
Overall, Olga Fikotova’s life was marked by her success as an athlete, her love story with Harold Connolly, and her passion for environmentalism and animal rights in her retirement. Despite facing obstacles in her personal and professional life, she continued to persevere and make a positive impact through her work as a fitness trainer and commitment to advocating for causes she believed in. Her legacy as an Olympic champion and advocate for social and environmental issues continues to inspire others.
