Olga Fikotová Connolly, a former Olympian and champion female discus thrower, has reportedly died at the age of 91. Connolly was famously involved in a romance with Harold “Hal” Connolly.
She died on April 12th, 2024.
Olga Fikotová was born in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia and now the Czech Republic, on Nov. 13, 1932. Her father served as a sercurity detail for the very first President of the Czech Republic.
She was a champion discus thrower from Czechoslovakia. Connolly was from the United States. Originally Olga Fikotová, both her and her beloved Harold won gold medals at the 1956 Olympic games.
Connolly won the gold medal at just 24 years old. She told PBS about her rise in athletics,
“Because of regulations, we all could train half the day and the other half was spent in strength training by breaking rocks and moving them by wheelbarrows”
They married just months after winning their gold medals in 1956, getting hitched in Prague. Their marriage, at the time, was a massive deal considering that Harold was American, and Fikotová was from Red Czechoslovakia.
Fikotová was deemed a traitor by her own country for daring to marry Connolly. The late discus champion told the Financial Times about her loving relationship with her husband,
“Fate used Harold and I to illustrate that we can all choose whether to quarrel or be happy together”
Olga Fikotová Connolly
Unfortunately, the love story between Harold and Olga did not last. The pair would go on to divorce each other in the 1976, 16 years after they had first tied the knot. Like all great things, their marriage came to an end.
She lived her life accomplishing achievements that few could. The mere fact that Fikotová was an Olympian is astounding. Very few individuals can ever say they achieved that much in the field of athletics.
Rest in peace, Fikotová!
