Jana Hlavaty (née Ledvinková on August 25, 1941 in Prague) is a retired cross-country skier. Born in Czechoslovakia, she earned a master's degree from Charles University in Prague. In August 1969, she came to the United States to visit her uncle but never returned as she married Václav Hlavatý, a Czech doctor living in Chicago. She became a member of the U.S. cross-country skiing team in 1973. As she obtained permanent residency in March 1971, she could not become a citizen until five years later, March 1976. However, as the 1976 Winter Olympics were to take place in February, she wouldn’t be able to compete for America there. Therefore she appealed to the Illinois Senator Charles H. Percy who arranged a special bill passed by Congress (and signed by Gerald Ford), waiving the requirement f