1938 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

The 11th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1938.

According to the website Gymnastics-History.com, various original source materials stated that the political situation, with what would become World War II on the near horizon, was grave in Czechoslovakia. An article in the 28 May 1938 edition of The New York Times described the political situation in Czechoslovakia as a “powder barrel” about which Soviet spokespersons “continued to evince concern all week over the possibilities of a general war blazing up from the Czechoslovakia situation^[1] Also, the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer stated, in an article in their 6 July 1938 edition, “In the midst of the gravest crisis experienced since the foundation of Czechoslovakia, Prague is celebrating the tenth Congress of the Slavonic Gymnastic Movement called the Sokol, or Falcon”.^[1] It was due to this political context that the 1938 World Championships were under-attended. A Sokol publication stated

“Only one thing they were not that happy about. The Hungarians, who were an excellent team in Budapest and Berlin, and the Germans, who were 0.5% ahead of our team in Berlin, did not have their strong competitors here. Both teams were registered for the competition and withdrew only at the last minute. The Dutch team apologized on the eve of the competition and did not participate.”^[1]

A total of 59 competitors were individually ranked in the all-around competition.^[2]

^[3]

† = Although on page 65 of the FIG’s 125-Year Anniversary Publication, Hudec and Mack are listed as having won silver and bronze, respectively, on the Floor Exercise,^[4] two different contemporaneous reports of these World Championships show Hudec and Mack as having tied for silver, each with "18.56"^[2]: 34 or "18.5 & 2/3" points.^[5]

According to the official commemorative publication for the 10th Prague Sokol Slet in 1938, of which these World Championships were a feature, as well as to an article on Gymnastics-History.com,^[3] there was a Track and Field and Athletics component to the competition, as there had been in some previous World Championships and Olympic Games. In this edition of the World Championships, the track and field and athletics segment of the competition included 100 meter, High jump, and Shot put events. According to information given in this 10th Sokol Slet publication, the maximum possible individual all-around total was 150 points, of which the track and field and athletics component contributed a total of 30 points, with a maximum of 10 points each being awarded for the 100 meter, High Jump, and Shot Put events.^[3][5]

Although there is no mention of there having been awarded medals solely for placements earned in the track and field segment of the competition, the ten highest-placing individuals in the Track and Field segment of the competition were:

^[2]: 34

The 1938 Sokol Slet commemorative publication also specifically articulates that, minus the track and field events, among the highest individual placers of the gymnastics-apparatus-only segment of the competition (120 of the 150 total points), the top 3 places were earned by:

1. Alois Hudec of Czechoslovakia, with 114.633 points
2. Eugen Mack of Switzerland, with 113.6 points
3. Michael Reusch of Switzerland, with 112.266 points

with Gajdoš, Petráček and Beck rounding out the top 6, in that order.^[5]: 188

Under all World Championships and Olympic Games editions of artistic gymnastics competition since World War II, there is no longer a track and field or athletics component to the competition. In these long and currently prevailing standards, then, in “pure gymnastics” terms, Alois Hudec could be considered one of the sport’s repeat World All-Around Champions, who are rare compared to single-time winners.

A total of 32 woman gymnasts were individually ranked for the all-around competition.^[2] With the context of both the previous World Championships which were the first with a women's segment to the competition as well as the interceding Olympic Games, the outcome and composition of the women's all-around podium at these championships was significant. Reportedly, cheating occurred at the first 1934 women's installment of these games^[7] which, when undone, allowed the Czechoslovak team and their foremost star Vlasta Děkanová to be the first-place finishers, as a team and individual, respectively. Going into the 1936 Olympics, the Czechoslovaks and Děkanová were the favorites, but had to take 2nd place behind the home-ground advantaged German team (who did not compete at the 1934 Worlds), and the top three scoring individuals were all German. These 1938 Worlds were hosted in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and this time all three spots on the all-around podium were occupied by individuals from the Czechoslovak team. Děkanová (a Czech) successfully defended her first-place finish from the previous worlds, Zdeňka Veřmiřovská (a Moravian) won silver, and Matylda Pálfyová (a Slovak) won bronze. The three regions from which each hailed within the former Czechoslovakia were the 3 largest and most significant regions of that nation, so the fullest representation possible of geographical diversity within that country was made manifest on this all-around podium.

† Compulsory Uneven Bars †† Optional Uneven Bars ^[8][9][2]

^[8]

^[8]

^[8]

^[8]

^[8]

^[8]

^[8]

• Sports123