Vera Cerna (CSSR)

1979 World B Champion

Vera was born on May 17, 1963, in Brno (Czech Republic) and won the beam title at the 1979 World Championships. When she was 6, she was selected to train in rhythmic gymnastics, but by age 8 she had convinced coaches to let her switch to sports gymnastics. It was a good decision, because by age 11 she was good enough to join the junior national team. That same year, she competed in her first international meet, in a dual with Hungary. 

At an Olympic training camp in Nymburk, Vera sustained a serious injury - she cracked her 3rd lumbar vertebra and 2 discs - just weeks before the Moscow Games. She spent the next two months in a hospital in Brno. Vera graduated from Brno University of Technology and worked with the Brno police department as a dispatcher for several years. Twice married and divorced, and the mother of three (twin daughters Kristina and Lucie, and son Daniel), she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2003 and underwent surgery that left her partially paralyzed.  Her condition improved with rehabilitation although she still had difficulty walking and could not see out of one eye. Vera died on September 30, 2024.

Competition Results

1975
Jr. CSSR-ROM Dual Meet: 1st Team, 4th AA

1976
Jr. Friendship Tournament:  5th Team, 8th B

1977

Antibes International:  4th AA, 3rd B

CSSR Championships:  2nd AA, 1st UB, 1st FX,

CSSR-USSR Dual Meet: 2nd Team, 1st AA
CSSR-POL Dual Meet: 1st Team, 1st AA
European Championships:  18th AA

Jr. TCH-USSR Dual Meet:  1st AA

World Cup:  6th AA, 2nd FX, 7th V, 8th UB

 

1978

American Cup: 4th AA
Calgary International Invitational: 1st AA
Champions All:  10th AA

CSSR Championships:  2nd AA

CSSR World Trials:  2nd AA

HUN-POL-TCH-FRA Quad Meet:  1st AA

Ontario Cup:  4th AA

Pioneer Intl. Gymnastics Classic: 2nd B, 2nd FX
RSFSR-CSSR Dual Meet: 2nd Team, 3rd AA, 1st UB, 2nd B, 3rd FX
World Championships:  6th Team, 6th AA, 5th B, 6th FX, 7th UB

World Cup:  4th AA, 1st B, 2nd UB, 8th V

 

1979

Coca Cola International:  1st AA, 1st UB, 1st B, 2nd FX, 4th V

European Championships:  6th AA, 6th V, 6th FX, 8th UB
HOL-CSSR Dual Meet: 1st Team, 1st AA

Kosice International: 1st AA, 1st UB, 2nd V, 2nd FX
Pre-Olympics:  2nd B, 4th FX, 5th AA, 7th UB

World Championships:  5th Team, 1st B, 6th AA, 6th FX

 

1980

Kosice International:  3rd AA, 2nd V

This page was created on November 1, 1997 and was last updated on November 5, 2024.
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