Ferdinand Daniš

Slovakian-born Ferdinand Daniš took up gymnastics after World War II and began representing Czechoslovakia at international meets at the age of 18. He continued with gymnastics after entering the army and competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he was seventh with the team and had a best individual finish of joint-fifth in the parallel bars. Four years later, in 1956 in Melbourne, the Czechoslovakian team just missed a medal in fourth, while Daniš had his best individual finish with joint-sixth in the floor exercise.

Daniš then had his greatest international success when he took bronze with the team at the 1958 World Championships. He was also runner-up, behind Yury Titov of the Soviet Union, in the parallel bars at the 1959 European Championships. He attended one more edition of the Olympics, in 1960 in Rome, and again was fourth with the team, having a best individual placement of 11th in the horizontal bar. He qualified for a fourth Games in 1964, but could not compete due to injury and retired. Nationally, he was the overall Czechoslovakian champion from 1951 through 1955, as well as in 1959 and 1960, and captured 20 titles in individual events. He later coached gymnastics in the military and eventually earned a degree in physical education in 1971.