Josef Čada


Josef Čada was a Czech gymnast who competed for Bohemia in the 1908 Summer Olympics and for Czechoslovakia in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He made his debut at the 3rd-ever World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Prague. When Bohemia made their debut at these World Championships, he led their team to victory from the start, as well as establishing himself as the top gymnast at those games. Any possible claims of hometown favoritism would later be dispelled with his successes at the next 3 World Championships - 1909, 1911, and 1913 - where he won many more medals and all but dominated on the Horizontal bar event.

World War I would interrupt his gymnastics career, although after the war he would he would return and compete at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympic Games. He had previously competed in the 1908 Olympics individual all-around gymnastics competition, placing 25th.
His successes are best seen in the context of the Sokol movement within the former Bohemia and its successor, Czechoslovakia.