Sport in Poland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
National Stadium, Warsaw

Poland's sports include almost all sports, in particular: track & field, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, American football (Gridiron), handball, ice hockey, swimming, volleyball, and weightlifting. The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has also brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Volleyball and football are the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competition. Poland has also made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, a highly successful Polish rider. 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. Cross country skiing is also a incredibly popular tv sports, gathering 4-5 million viewers each race, with Justina Kowalczyk as the main attraction Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.

Contents

[edit] Football

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying - Poland vs Armenia in Kielce
Main article: Football in Poland

[edit] Polish National Football Team

The Polish National Football Team was the winner of the 1972 Olympic Football Tournament, as well as a runner-up in 1976 and 1992. Poland has made seven FIFA World Cup appearances (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006) and achieved great success, finishing third at both the 1974 World Cup in Germany and the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The junior team has also achieved success on the international stage, finishing third at the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final, fourth at the 1979 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final and fourth at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup Final.

Co-host of UEFA Euro 2012 with Ukraine

Poland will host the UEFA Euro 2012 along with Ukraine in 2012. It will be the first time Poland has hosted an event of this size.

[edit] Rugby union

Main article: Rugby union in Poland

In 1921, Louis Amblard, a Frenchman, set up the very first Polish rugby club called "The White Eagles".[1] The first match was in 1922,[1] and the first club international in 1924 against a Romanian side.[1] The game became established in the Warsaw Military Academy in the early 1930s.[2]

[edit] Volleyball

Poland - Brazil match in FIVB World League 2009, Arena Łódź
Main article: Volleyball in Poland

Poland will host the 2014 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship and Men's Volleyball European Championship 2013 with Denmark. The Polish Men National Volleyball Team had achievied 14 medals from international competitions since 1965.

[edit] Speedway

Main article: Speedway in Poland

[edit] Handball

Main article: Handball in Poland

[edit] Rally

In Poland for many years held Polish Rally Championship (Rajdowe Samochodowe Mistrzostwa Polski) RSMP are played from 1928. The Rally Poland (Rajd Polski) is the second oldest rally in the world after the famous classic Rally Monte Carlo. Between 1998-2001 the level was the strongest in Europe because racing many great drivers in WRC cars. For a poor policy PZM rallies have lost rank, but they are still popular in Poland.

Sebastian Frycz and Jacek Rathe on Subaru Poland Rally - Wawelski Rally

.

[edit] Other sports

  • Bandy is still a very small sport in the country. Poland made their 1st international appearance 2006 at the U-15 World Championships for boys in Edsbyn, Sweden. The team consisted of players from Gizycko and Krynica-Zdrój.[3]
  • Polish American Football League (PLFA - pl. Polska Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego) is the league of the American Football in Poland, founded in 2006. American football is arguably fastest growing sport in Poland.

[edit] 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 of the 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.
  • Paweł Zagumny. (born October 18, 1977 in Jasło, Poland) is a Polish volleyball player. He is a son of Lech Zagumny, the coach of Polish volleyball club AZS Politechnika Warszawa. He is playing in volleyball club Kedzierzyn-Kozle and also in Poland national team, in which he debuted in 1998. Zagumny is widely considered as the best setter in the world.
  • 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=23254
  2. ^ Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1 86200 013 3) p72
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]


Sovereign
states
States with limited
recognition
Dependencies
and other territories
Other entities
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sports in Poland
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sport_in_Poland&oldid=477719344"
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages