Bronisław Malinowski (athlete)

Bronisław Malinowski

Memorial to Malinowski in front of the Grudziądz stadium
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Poland
Olympic Games
Gold	1980 Moscow	3000 m steeplechase
Silver	1976 Montreal	3000 m steeplechase

Bronisław Malinowski (4 June 1951 – 27 September 1981), born in Nowe, was a Polish track and field athlete, named after the famous anthropologist, who is best known for winning a gold medal in the 3000 m steeplechase race during the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Soviet Union. A year later, Malinowski was killed in a car accident in Grudziądz, at the age of 30.

Malinowski was born in Nowe. He finished fourth at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, but came back to win gold at the 1974 European Championships. The period between the European Championships and the 1976 Summer Olympics, saw a rivalry emerge between Malinowski and Swedish athlete Anders Gärderud. It ended with Malinowski taking silver behind the first-place Gärderud who won in world-record time.

Although Gärderud retired from the sport in 1976, Malinowski faced a new contender, Henry Rono of Kenya, who set the new world record in 1978. Still, Malinowski beat Rono in a head-to-head race that same season. In the autumn of 1978, he successfully defended his European Championship at the 3,000-metre steeplechase in Prague (see, for example, Tapio Pekola et al., eds., "European Championships Prague" / EM-Praha, Kaarina, Finland: "Runner" / Juoksija magazine, 1978). The pinnacle of Malinowski's career came during the 1980 Summer Olympics when he took gold in the 3000 m steeplechase race by steadying himself against front-runner Filbert Bayi.

Malinowski had a Polish father and a Scottish mother. At the time of his death, he considered moving to Scotland because Poland was then politically restless (see, for example, "The Events of Top Sports Until 1982" / Huippu-urheilun tapahtumat vuoteen 1982, published in Finland in 1982).

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Poland
1970	European Junior Championships	Paris, France	1st	2000 m s'chase
1971	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	8th	5000 m	13:39.4 (NR)
1972	Olympic Games	Munich, West Germany	4th	3000 m s'chase	8:28.0
1974	European Championships	Rome, Italy	1st	3000 m s'chase	8:15.04
1975	Universiade	Rome, Italy	1st	3000 m s'chase	8:22.32
1976	Olympic Games	Montreal, Canada	20th (h)	1500 m	3:41.67
			2nd	3000 m s'chase	8:09.11 (NR)
1978	European Championships	Prague, Czechoslovakia	1st	3000 m s'chase	8:15.08
1979	World Cross Country Championships	Limerick, Ireland	2nd	Senior race
1980	Olympic Games	Moscow, Soviet Union	1st	3000 m s'chase	8:09.7

See also

• Polish records in athletics

Records
Preceded by Vladimir Dudin	Men's 3000 m steeplechase European record holder equalled Vladimir Dudin's 8:22.2 mark 10 August 1972 – 14 September 1972	Succeeded by Anders Gärderud
Sporting positions
Preceded by Henry Rono	Men's 3000 m steeplechase best year performance 1980	Succeeded by Mariano Scartezzini