Tadeusz Teodorowicz
| Born | 17 June 1931 Vilnius |
|---|---|
| Died | 21 January 1965 (aged 33) Swindon, England |
| Nationality | Polish / British |
| Career history | |
| 1950 | Gwardia Gdynia (POL) |
| 1951–1957 | Spójnia Wrocław (POL) |
| 1959-1964 | Swindon Robins (GBR) |
| Individual honours | |
| 1963 | World final reserve |
| 1956 | European Championship finalist |
| 1964 | British Championship finalist |
Tadeusz Teodorowicz (1931-1965) also known as Teo was an international speedway rider from Poland and Great Britain.[1]
Speedway career
Teodorowicz rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1959-1964, riding for Swindon Robins.[2] He was capped by both Poland and Great Britain and reached the final of the European Championship in 1956.[3]
He would eventually become a British citizen after escaping and seeking political asylum from the communist East while on a tour of the Netherlands in September 1958. He spent four months in prison before gaining a Dutch passport and then moved to England. In England, he married Liliana Zajecka-Slonina, a local Swindon nurse of Polish origin. In 1963 he finished eighth in the British Championships, sealing a reserve spot at the final of the 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship. The following year he reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1964.[4]
He was in the best form of his career at the time and then tragedy struck when he suffered major head trauma in a match while riding for Swindon Robins against West Ham Hammers. The match was held at the West Ham Stadium on 1 September 1964 and Teo was left with a skull fracture following a crash into the fence, this caused him to go into a coma. He was transferred to a London hospital and then moved to Swindon before he died several months later from Pneumonia, on 21 January 1965.[5]
World final appearances
Individual World Championship
- 1963 -
London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - Did not ride
See also
Rider deaths in motorcycle racing
References
- ^ "In Memoriam". Custom House Kid. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Tad "Teo" Teodorowicz". Motosport Memorial. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
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