The 17th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1970.

The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are the World Championships for artistic gymnastics. They have been held since 1903.

Helena Rakoczy (née Krzynówek), also Rákóczy or Rákóczi (born 23 December 1921) was a world champion Polish gymnast. She was born in Kraków, Poland.

A member of the 1952 and 1956 Polish women's gymnastics team, she managed only one Olympic medal, in Melbourne, a bronze in the Team Portable Apparatus Event, tying with the USSR team. Disappointing performances at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, particularly on the uneven bars, kept her well out of the higher-finishing individuals in the all-around (she was 43rd), failed to qualify her to any of the event finals competitions, and saw her team place 8th. Stronger performances at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics garnered her an 8th-place finish in the all-around, a 5th place place on uneven bars, and saw her team to a much-improved 4th place all around with her compatriate, two-time Olympian (1956, 1960) Natalia Kot.

Her real successes came at the World Gymnastics Championships in 1950 and 1954. At the former, she became the World Individual All-Around Champion, as well as becoming champion on 3 of the 4 individual apparatuses (Vault, Beam, and Floor), and at the latter, she took bronze in both the individual all-around and uneven bars. These accomplishments make her the most decorated Polish gymnast - male or female - ever.

Erica Zuchold (née Barth; born 19 March 1947 in Lucka), is a former East German gymnast who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid 1960s to early 1970s.

She, along with Karin Janz, was one of the two most significant (in terms of medals won at major championships) female German gymnasts of her era, co-leading, with Janz, the East German team to both the Team Bronze at the 1968 Olympics and improving upon that, again with Janz, to win the Team Silver at the 1972 Olympics.

Among her many successes, her highlight came at the 1970 World Championships where she placed 2nd in the Individual All-Around behind the Soviet Ludmilla Tourischeva and returned to win Gold on both Vault and Balance Beam in event finals, the latter of which being a fairly controversial win over second-place American Cathy Rigby. Also, the period in-between the 1968 and 1972 Olympics saw Zuchold and Tourischeva being the only two gymnasts to win spots on the Individual All-Around podium at every European and World Championships during that time period (1969 Europeans - 1970 Worlds - 1971 Europeans).