finish and the German team's first-place finish. Two years later, Děkanová competed at the next installment of the 1938 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where she again was the highest individual finisher among all competitors, successfully defending her placement at the previous World Championships. According to an official document published by the FIG, Dekanova "won the general competition at the 1934 and 1938 World Championships." Another supporting piece of information suggesting Děkanová's consistent excellence is that at a Czechoslovakian selection competition held on May 15, 1938, just weeks before the 1938 Worlds held on June 30 and July 1, Děkanová placed 1st among all 19 individuals. World War II Activities and Post-Competitive Career Like many other Sokol members (gymnasts or otherwise) such as 1922 World All-Around Champion František Pecháček, 1928 Olympic Parallel Bars Champion Ladislav Vácha, and 1938 World All-Around Champion Jan Gajdoš, all also Czechoslovakian, and all of whom lost their lives as resistance fighters during World War II, Děkanová was also involved in the underground Czechoslovakian resistance in World War II. She was a magistrate and was involved in copying and distributing material from illegal publications, such as "V boj" ("Into combat") by prominent journalist Irena Bernášková. She was punished for such activities, once spending several weeks in jail. She also served as a volunteer nurse during the Prague uprising of May 1945 and helped remove wounded soldiers from the front line of combat. After World War II, she remained active in the sport and trained young gymnasts. She was also involved in developing and maintaining city infrastructure as a planner and dispatcher of road and water management buildings. Legacy Before the introduction of the women's full program at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, medals were awarded to women's teams only, without distinguishing individual athletes. Therefore, Děkanová was the most decorated female artistic gymnast at the World and Olympic level, overall, in the era before World War II, taking into account what information is publicly available. Additionally, as Děkanová led her team to its first two World Championship victories and coached her team to Olympic victory in 1948, she can be credited as playing a very crucial role in establishing the legacy of her country in the sport of women's gymnastics. At the 15 World and Olympic competitions held, from 1934 to 1970, they won team medals at all but 2 of those competitions, and one of their only two