Sport in Poland
Poland Sports
Information
Many sports are popular in Poland. Football (soccer) is the country's most popular sport, with a rich history of international competition. Track and field, basketball, boxing, ski jumping, fencing, handball, ice hockey, swimming, volleyball, and weightlifting are other popular sports.
The golden era of football in Poland occurred throughout the 1970s and went on until the early 1980s when the Polish national football team achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing 3rd place in the 1974 and 1982 editions. The team won a gold medal in football at the 1972 Summer Olympics and also won two silver medals in 1976 and 1992. Poland, along with Ukraine, will host the UEFA European Football Championship in 2012.
The Polish men's national volleyball team is ranked 5th in the world and the women's volleyball team is ranked 10th. Mariusz Pudzianowski is a highly successful strongman competitor and has won more World's Strongest Man titles than any other competitor in the world, winning the event in 2008 for the fifth time.
The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, a highly successful Polish rider. The national speedway team of Poland is one of the major teams in international speedway and is very successful in various competitions.
The Polish mountains are an ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.
Increasingly, sports such as rugby, golf & rowing are becoming more popular.
Famous Polish Athletes
Grzegorz Lato, footballer (born 8 April 1950 in Malbork, Poland) - Lato is the all-time cap leader for the Polish National Football Team. He was the leading scorer at the 1974 Fifa World Cup, where he won the Golden Shoe after scoring a tournament best seven goals. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with a third place finish at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish at the 1974 championships in Germany. Lato retired from professional football in 1984 with 45 international goals, a record that stands to this day.
Adam Małysz, ski jumper (born 3 December 1977 in Wisła, Poland) - Małysz won two Olympic medals (Silver, Bronze) at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and has won the World Championships several times. He has also won an incredible 38 World Cup competitions, second only to Finland's Matti Nykänen on the all-time list. He is the first ski jumper ever to win the World Cup 3 times in a row.
Irena Szewińska, sprinter (born Irena Kirszenstein on 24 May 1946 in Leningrad, Russia) - Between 1964 and 1980 Szewińska participated in five Olympic Games, winning seven medals, three of them gold. She also broke six world records and was the first woman to hold world records at 100 m, 200 m and 400 m at the same time. She also won 13 medals in European Championships. Between 1965 and 1979 she gathered 26 titles of Champion of Poland in 100 m sprint, 200 m sprint, 400 m sprint, 4x400 m relay and long jump.
Tomasz Gollob, motorcycle speedway rider (born 11 April 1971 in Bydgoszcz, Poland) - Gollob is Poland's most recognized motorcyclist. He has finished in the top ten of the Speedway Grand Prix 11 times, including his best performance in 1999 when he captured second place.
Mariusz Pudzianowski, a professional strongman (born February 7, 1977) - He started Kyokushin in 1988, weight training in 1990 and boxing in 1992. At the end of the 1990s he focussed on strongman competitions.
Andrzej Gołota, boxer (born 5 January 1968) - In his early days, Gołota had 111 wins in a stellar amateur career that culminated in his winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Gołota also captured a Bronze Medal at the 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships. His professional record stands at 39 wins, 6 losses, one no contest and one draw, with 32 knockouts.
Jerzy Dudek, football player (born 23 March 1973 in Rybnik, Poland) - Dudek, a famous Polish goalkeeper began his professional career with Sokół Tychy, a team in the Polish National Football League where he played one season in 1995-96. Between 1996 and 2002, Dudek was a member of Feyenoord Rotterdam of the Eredivisie league in the Netherlands, where he won the 1998-99 Dutch League Championship and the 1999–2000 Dutch Super Cup. During his stay with Feyenoord he also received the league's highest goalkeeping honors, winning the Dutch Keeper Of The Year Award twice (1998–99, 1999-2000. In 2002 Dudek was transferred to Liverpool FC in the English Premier League, where he became a household name, winning the League Cup in 2002–03, the UEFA Champions League in 2004–05 and the European Super Cup in 2005–06, as well as the FA Cup in 2005–06. Presently Dudek plays for Real Madrid in Spain. He has made 59 appearances for the Polish National Team.
Robert Korzeniowski, (born July 30, 1968 in Lubaczów, Poland) is a former Polish racewalker. He has won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics and has won three world championships.
Mariusz Czerkawski, hockey player (born 13 April 1972 in Radomsko, Poland) - Czerkawski has enjoyed a successful career in the National Hockey League with a total of 215 goals, 220 assists and 435 points in 745 games. Throughout his 14-year NHL career, Czerkawski played for the Boston Bruins (1993-96, 2005-06), Edmonton Oilers (1996-97), New York Islanders (1997-2002, 2003-04) Montreal Canadiens (2002-03) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2005-06). Czerkawski represented Poland in the 1992 Winter Olympics where he collected one assist in five games. Presently, he plays for the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Nationalliga A in Switzerland.
Krzysztof Oliwa, hockey player (born 12 April 1973 in Tychy, Poland) - Former professional ice hockey player who played the left wing position in the National Hockey League. Oliwa was nicknamed "The Hammer" due to his physical and intimidating on-ice presence. At 6'5", with a strong build, he would normally play the role of the team's enforcer. Oliwa won the 1999-2000 Stanley Cup as a member of the New Jersey Devils. Oliwa has also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames.
Zbigniew Boniek, football player (born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz, Poland - He played on Zawisza Bydgoszcz, Widzew Łódź, Juventus and AS Roma. In 2004 Pelé got him on the FIFA 100 list.
Helena Rakoczy, (born 23 December 1921 in Kraków, Poland). Gymnast at Olympics (1952, 1956), and World Championships (1950, 1954). World Individual All-Around, Vault, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise champion in 1950. Inducted into International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2004.
Robert Kubica, - (born 7 December 1984 in Kraków, Poland), Robert Kubica is the first Polish Formula One driver. He made his racing deput at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He experienced his first podium finish at Monza, Italy at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix. During this race he finished third and stood on the podium next to Michael Schumacher (Germany) and Kimi Räikkönen (Finland). In the 2007 Formula One season he survived a horrific crash at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica came out of the crash with only a sprained ankle and minor concussion. Robert Kubica scored his very first victory in Formula 1 at 2008 Canadian Grand Prix (it was also the very first win for the BMW Sauber team). Robert Kubica has brought Formula One to Poland, bringing along with him many new fans. He is currently racing for the Renault F1 Team alongside his teammate Vitaly Petrov (Russia).
Sobiesław Zasada, - (born 27 January 1930 in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland) is a Polish former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship in 1966, 1967, 1971 and was vice-champion in 1968, 1969, 1972.
Agnieszka Radwańska, (born March 6, 1989 in Kraków, full name Agnieszka Roma Radwańska) is a WTA Tour top 10 Polish tennis player.
Alan Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racecar driver. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before he moved up to regional stock car touring series. He arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with only a borrowed pickup truck, a racecar, no sponsor, and a limited budget. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, Kulwicki earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award over drivers racing for well-funded teams. After Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway, he turned his car around for his trademark "Polish Victory Lap". Kulwicki won five more races before winning the 1992 Winston Cup championship by the then-closest margin in NASCAR history.