Czechoslovakia at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Czechoslovakia competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. It was the first time that the nation had competed at the Summer Olympic Games, after the republic was founded in 1918. Previously, Bohemia had competed at the Olympic Games from 1900 to 1912.

Czechoslovakia at the 1920 Summer Olympics
IOC code	TCH
NOC	Czechoslovak Olympic Committee
in Antwerp
Competitors	121 in 13 sports
Flag bearer	Ladislav Žemla[1]
Medals Ranked 21st	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 2 Total 2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992
Other related appearances
Bohemia (1900–1912)  Czech Republic (1994–)  Slovakia (1994–)

Medalists

Further information: 1920 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 1920 Summer Olympics medal winners

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Bronze	Karel Hartmann Vilém Loos Jan Palouš Jan Peka Karel Pešek Josef Šroubek Otakar Vindyš Karel Wälzer	Ice hockey	Men's	April 29
Bronze	Milada Skrbková Ladislav Žemla	Tennis	Mixed doubles	August 24

Aquatics

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Four swimmers, all male, represented Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics. None of the swimmers were able to advance to the finals.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Men

Swimmer	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Václav Bucháček	100 m free	1:19.2	2 Q	Unknown	5	Did not advance
Alois Hrášek	400 m free	Unknown	4	Did not advance
	1500 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
Emanuel Prüll	1500 m free	Unknown	5	Did not advance
Eduard Stibor	200 m breast	Unknown	5	Did not advance
	400 m breast	Unknown	5	Did not advance

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Czechoslovakia competed in the Olympic water polo tournament for the first time in 1920. A modified version of the Bergvall System was in use at the time. The team was shut out in both of its games, first by Sweden in the round of 16 and then by the Netherlands in the bronze medal quarterfinals.

• Squad

Frantšek Franěk Antonín Novotný Václav Lancinger Eduard Stibor

Hugo Sedláček Emil Cirl František Černík Jan Hora

Round of 16

Sweden

11–0

Czechoslovakia

Antwerp

Bronze medal quarterfinals

Netherlands

7–0

Czechoslovakia

Antwerp

Final rank

11th

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1920 Summer Olympics

16 athletes represented Czechoslovakia in the country's Olympics debut in 1920. The best result for the team was Vohralík's 4th-place finish in the 1500 metres, just 1.6 seconds behind the bronze medal winner.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Karel Frankenstein	400 m	52.5	3	Did not advance
	800 m	—			6	Did not advance
Eduard Hašek	100 m		4	Did not advance
František Kiehlmann	400 m hurdles	—		59.9	3 Q	Did not advance
František Marek	110 m hurdles	—			4	Did not advance
	400 m hurdles	—			4	Did not advance
Karel Pacák	5000 m	—					8	Did not advance
	10000 m	—					11	Did not advance
Vojtěch Plzák	100 m		4	Did not advance
	200 m	23.4	1 Q	23.1	4	Did not advance
Karel Přibyl	400 m	54.0	3	Did not advance
	800 m	—			8	Did not advance
Jaroslav Procházka	800 m	—			5	Did not advance
Adolf Reich	110 m hurdles	—			4	Did not advance
Josef Šlehofer	3 km walk	—				Disqualified		Did not advance
	10 km walk	—				Did not finish		Did not advance
Josef Teplý	800 m	—		2:00.6	7	Did not advance
Václav Vohralík	1500 m	—				4:02.2	1 Q	4:08.0	4

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
František Hoplíček	Discus throw	36.75	13	Did not advance
František Šretr	Long jump	5.55	26	Did not advance
	Triple jump	No mark	20	Did not advance
František Stejskal	Triple jump	No mark	20	Did not advance
	High jump	1.65	16	Did not advance
Ardy Vydra	Javelin throw	37.75	24	Did not advance

Athlete	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Eduard Hašek	Decathlon	Did not finish

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Four cyclists represented Czechoslovakia in the nation's Olympic debut 1920. The four cyclists competed in the road time trials, placing ninth as a team. Procházka was the best of the four, finishing 34th individually.

Road cycling

Cyclist	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Ladislav Janoušek	Time trial	5:29:23.4	36
František Kundert	Time trial	5:38:07.0	39
Josef Procházka	Time trial	5:23:31.4	34
Bohumil Rameš	Time trial	5:40:00.0	40
Ladislav Janoušek František Kundert Josef Procházka Bohumil Rameš	Team time trial	22:10:01.8	9

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Nine fencers represented Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. The country had two individual fencers reach semifinals, but neither advanced to a final. The nation's teams were unsuccessful in team competitions, unable to win a single bout.

Ranks given are within the group.

Fencer	Event	First round		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Jan Černohorský	Épée	1–8	10	Did not advance
František Dvořák	Foil	N/A		2–4	4	Did not advance
Josef Javůrek	Épée	2–7	10	Did not advance
	Foil	N/A		3–5	6	Did not advance
	Sabre	N/A		3–3	5 Q	3–3	5	Did not advance
Josef Jungmann	Épée	4–4	5 Q	1–9	11	Did not advance
	Foil	N/A		1–5	6	Did not advance
Antonín Mikala	Foil	N/A		1–4	5	Did not advance
Jaroslav Šourek	Sabre	N/A		3–5	7	Did not advance
Otakar Švorčík	Épée	4–4	4 Q	1–9	11	Did not advance
Viliam Tvrský	Épée	1–7	9	Did not advance
	Foil	N/A		6–2	3 Q	1–4	5	Did not advance
	Sabre	N/A		2–5	7	Did not advance
Zdeněk Vávra	Sabre	N/A		3–4	5	Did not advance
František Dvořák Josef Javůrek Antony Mikala Viliam Tvrský	Team foil[2]	N/A				0–5	5	Did not advance
Jan Černohorský Josef Javůrek Josef Jungmann Otakar Švorčík Zdeněk Vávra	Team épée[2]	N/A				0–5	5	Did not advance
František Dvořák Josef Javůrek Josef Jungmann Antony Mikala Otakar Švorčík	Team sabre[2]	N/A						0–7	6

Football

Main article: Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Czechoslovakia competed in the Olympic football tournament for the first time. The squad started strong, outscoring opponents 15 to 1 in the first three rounds to qualify for the final. There the team fell behind 2–0 to Belgium before abandoning the match in protest in the 40th minute. Czechoslovakia, which was not guaranteed the silver medal by advancing to the final due to the use of the Bergvall System, was disqualified from the competition, losing the opportunity to play in the second-place tournament. Archived 2012-01-18 at the Wayback Machine

First round

Czechoslovakia	7–0	Yugoslavia
Vanik 20' 46' 79' Janda 34' 50' 75' Sedláček 43'	Report

August 28, 1920

Broodstraat, Antwerp

Attendance: 600

Referee: Rafael van Praag (NED)

Quarterfinals

Czechoslovakia	4–0	Norway
Vanik 8' Janda 17' 66' 77'	Report

August 29, 1920

La Butte, Brussels

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Charles Barette (BEL)

Semifinals

Czechoslovakia	4–1	France
Mazal 18' 75' 87' Steiner 70'	Report	Boyer 79'

August 31, 1920

Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Johannes Mutters (NED)

Final

Belgium	2–0	Czechoslovakia
Coppée 6' (pen.) Larnoe 30'	Report

September 2, 1920

Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: John Lewis (GBR)

Final rank

Disqualified

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Sixteen gymnasts represented Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport, though Bohemia had competed three times previously. No gymnasts competed in the individual all-around, and the country sent a team in only one of the three team events. That team took fourth place out of five.

Artistic gymnastics

Gymnast	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Josef Bochníček Ladislav Bubeníček Josef Čada Stanislav Indruch Miroslav Klinger Josef Malý Zdeněk Opočenský Josef Pagáč František Pecháček Robert Pražák Václav Stolař Svatopluk Svoboda Ladislav Vácha František Vaněček Jaroslav Velda Václav Wirt	Team	305.255	4

Ice hockey

Main article: Ice hockey at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Czechoslovakia competed in the inaugural Olympic ice hockey tournament. The team took a bronze medal, thanks in large part to the use of the Bergvall System in the tournament. This system allowed the team to continue competing despite an early loss. Czechoslovakia was blown out by Canada, 15 to nil, in the quarterfinals. Because Canada went on to win the gold medal, the Bergvall System operated to put Czechoslovakia in the silver medal tournament; there, the team received a bye in the semifinals and went immediately to play against the United States in the silver medal match. The Americans did Canada one better, beating Czechoslovakia 16 to nothing. Still the Czechoslovakian team was not done; having lost only to the gold and silver medalists, the team competed for the bronze medal. Again Czechoslovakia received a semifinal bye, facing Sweden in the bronze medal match. This time, they were on the right end of the shutout, beating the Swedes 1 to zero to finish in third place.

Roster

Coach: Adolf Dušek

Pos	Player	GP	G	Birthdate	Age
R	Karel Hartmann	3	0	July 6, 1885	34
F	Vilém Loos	3	0	September 20, 1895	24
D	Jan Palouš	3	0	October 25, 1888	31
G	Jan Peka	2	0	July 27, 1894	25
F	Karel Pešek	3	0	September 20, 1895	24
F	Josef Šroubek	3	1	December 2, 1891	28
D	Otto Vindyš	3	0	April 9, 1884	36
G	Karel Wälzer	1	0	August 28, 1888	31
G	Karel Kotrbá	0	–

Gold medal quarterfinals

24 April 1920 21:30

Canada

15 – 0 (7–0, 8–0)

Czechoslovakia

Palais de Glace d'Anvers

Game reference
	Walter Byron	Goalies	Jan Peka
	Halderson (7) Fredrickson (4) Goodman (2) Woodman Johannesson Goals
	0 min	Penalties	0 min

Silver medal match

28 April 1920 22:00

United States

16 – 0 (7–0, 9–0)

Czechoslovakia

Palais de Glace d'Anvers

Game reference
	Cy Weidenborner	Goalies	Jan Peka	Referee: Paul Loicq
	L. McCormick (7) Drury (4) Conroy (2) Goheen J. McCormick Synott Goals
	0 min	Penalties	0 min

Bronze medal match

29 April 1920 23:00

Czechoslovakia

1 – 0 (1–0, 0–0)

Sweden

Palais de Glace d'Anvers

Game reference
	Karel Wälzer	Goalies	Seth Howander	Referee: Frank Fredrickson
	Šroubek 1 – 0
	0 min	Penalties	0 min
	2	Shots	48

Final rank

Bronze

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Fifteen rowers represented Czechoslovakia in the nation's debut in 1920 (Bohemia had competed in rowing once, in 1912). The nation sent three boats, each of which came in last in their initial heats in its event and did not advance.

Ranks given are within the heat.

Rower	Cox	Event	Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
			Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Gustav Zinke	N/A	Single sculls	Unknown	3	Did not advance
Jindřich Mulač Jaroslav Oplt Dominik Štillip Jiří Wihan	Jan Bauch	Coxed four	N/A		Unknown	3	Did not advance
Ferdinand Brožek Bohdan Kallmünzer Jiří Kallmünzer Emil Ordnung Ivan Schweizer Josef Širc Vladimír Širc Otakar Votík	Karel Čížek	Eight	6:43.0	2	Did not advance

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Eight shooters represented Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics.

Shooter	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Antonín Brych	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	Unknown
Rudolf Jelen	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	Unknown
Václav Kindl	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	Unknown
Josef Linert	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	Unknown
Josef Sucharda	300 m free rifle, 3 pos.	Unknown
František Bláha Antonín Brych Václav Kindl František Procházka Josef Štojdl	50 m team free pistol	Did not finish
Antonín Brych Rudolf Jelen Václav Kindl Josef Linert Josef Sucharda	Team free rifle	3542	14
	300 m team military rifle, prone	271	10
	300 m team military rifle, standing	200	14
	600 m team military rifle, prone	258	11
	300 & 600 m team military rifle, prone	536	8

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Seven tennis players, including one woman, competed for Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics, though Bohemia had competed three times. Three of the Czechoslovakian men had previously competed. Skrbková, the lone woman, did not compete in the singles but only as part of a mixed pair with Žemla-Rázný. That pair won the bronze medal, contributing three of the nation's four match wins in 1920. Žemla-Rázný was also involved in the fourth, as part of a men's pair with Ardelt which won its first match before being defeated. The other two men's pairs, as well as all four men's singles players, were defeated in their first match.

Player	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals	Rank
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score
Karel Ardelt	Men's singles	Bye	Beamish (GBR) L 6–2, 6–4, 6–3	Did not advance				17
Jaroslav Just	Men's singles	Alonso (ESP) L 6–3, 2–6, 6–0, 6–2	Did not advance					32
Otto Woffek	Men's singles	Beamish (GBR) L 6–1, 6–3, 6–4	Did not advance					32
Ladislav Žemla-Rázný	Men's singles	Bye	Malström (SWE) L 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 7–5	Did not advance				17
Karel Ardelt Ladislav Žemla-Rázný	Men's doubles	N/A	Laloux & Laloux (BEL) W 6–2, 6–4, 6–4	Norton & Raymond (RSA) L 6–1, 6–4, 6–4	Did not advance			9
Bohuslav Hykš-Černý Jaroslav Just	Men's doubles	N/A	Bye	Blanchy & Brugnon (FRA) L 6–1, 6–2, 6–4	Did not advance			9
Milada Skrbková Ladislav Žemla-Rázný	Mixed doubles	N/A	Bye	Dupont & Laloux (BEL) W 7–5, 6–4	Halot & Storms (BEL) W 7–5, 6–3	McKane & Woosnam (GBR) L 9–7, 6–3	Hansen & Tegner (DEN) W 8–6, 6–4
František Týř Otto Woffek	Men's doubles	N/A	Bye	Turnbull & Woosnam (GBR) L 6–1, 6–2, 6–3	Did not advance			9

Opponent nation Wins Losses Percent  Belgium 3 0 1.000  Denmark 1 0 1.000  France 0 1 .000  Great Britain 0 4 .000  South Africa 0 1 .000  Spain 0 1 .000  Sweden 0 1 .000 Total 4 8 .333

Round Wins Losses Percent Round of 64 0 2 .000 Round of 32 1 2 .333 Round of 16 1 3 .250 Quarterfinals 1 0 .000 Semifinals 0 1 .000 Final 0 0 – Bronze match 1 0 1.000 Total 4 8 .333

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Two weightlifters represented Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Games. Wágner placed fifth and Dvořák took eighth in their respective weight classes.

Weightlifter	Weight class	Final
		Result	Rank
Jaroslav Dvořák	82.5 kg	227.5	8
Ludvík Wágner	60 kg	195.0	5

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Ten wrestlers, two in each of the Greco-Roman weight classes, competed for Czechoslovakia in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Games, though Bohemia had competed twice previously. Czechoslovakia had no freestyle wrestlers in 1920.

Greco-Roman

Wrestler	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals	Rank
				Silver quarters	Silver semis	Silver match
				Bronze quarters	Bronze semis	Bronze match
Jan Balej	Greco-Roman middle	Bye	Corsanego (ITA) (W)	Lindfors (FIN) (L)	Did not advance		7
				Did not advance
				Eillebrecht (NED) (L)	Did not advance
Josef Beránek	Greco-Roman feather	Bye	Bouquet (FRA) (W)	Pütsep (EST) (L)	Did not advance		9
				N/A	Did not advance
				Did not advance
Karel Halík	Greco-Roman light	Bye	Coerse (NED) (L)	Did not advance			12
				Did not advance
				Did not advance
Josef Huml	Greco-Roman middle	Prunier (FRA) (W)	Szymanski (USA) (L)	Did not advance			13
				Did not advance
				Did not advance
Václav Kocián	Greco-Roman light heavy	Bye	Snoeck (BEL) (L)	Did not advance			10
				N/A	Did not advance
				N/A
František Kopřiva	Greco-Roman light	Bye	Tamminen (FIN) (L)	Did not advance			5
				Did not advance
				Bye	Andersen (NOR) (L)	Did not advance
Jan Kraus	Greco-Roman heavy	Calza (ITA) (L)	Did not advance	Did not advance			18
				Did not advance
				Did not advance
František Řezáč	Greco-Roman feather	Torgensen (DEN) (L)	Did not advance	Did not advance			17
				N/A	Did not advance
				Did not advance
Josef Struna	Greco-Roman heavy	Willkie (USA) (L)	Did not advance	Did not advance			18
				Did not advance
				Did not advance
František Tázler	Greco-Roman light heavy	Theisen (LUX) (W)	Rajala (FIN) (L)	Did not advance			10
				N/A	Did not advance
				N/A

Opponent nation Wins Losses Percent  Belgium 0 1 .000  Denmark 0 1 .000  Estonia 0 1 .000  Finland 0 3 .000  France 2 0 1.000  Italy 1 1 .500  Luxembourg 1 0 1.000  Netherlands 0 2 .000  Norway 0 1 .000  United States 0 2 .000 Total 4 12 .250

Round Wins Losses Percent Round of 32 2 3 .400 Round of 16 2 5 .286 Quarterfinals 0 2 .000 Semifinals 0 0 – Final 0 0 – Silver quarterfinals 0 0 – Silver semifinals 0 0 – Silver match 0 0 – Bronze quarterfinals 0 1 .000 Bronze semifinals 0 1 .000 Bronze match 0 0 – Total 4 12 .250

References

1. Objev! Po 101 letech byla odhalena identita našeho prvního československého vlajkonoše, Olympijskytym.cz, 2021-08-13
2. "Czechoslovakia Fencing at the 1920 Antwerpen Summer Games". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Composition for teams.

• Belgium Olympic Committee (1957). Olympic Games Antwerp 1920: Official Report (in French).
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
• International Olympic Committee results database