Władysław Komar

Władysław Komar

Władysław Komar in 1972
Personal information
Born	11 April 1940 Kaunas, Lithuania
Died	17 August 1998 (aged 58) Przybiernów, Poland
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	125 kg (276 lb)
Sport
Sport	Shot put
Club	Wybrzeże Gdańsk Gwardia Warszawa Polonia Warszawa
Medal record Representing Poland Olympic Games 1972 Munich Shot put European Championships 1966 Budapest Shot put 1971 Helsinki Shot put European Indoor Championships 1968 Madrid Shot put 1972 Grenoble Shot put 1978 Milan Shot put 1967 Prague Shot put 1977 San Sebastián Shot put

Władysław Komar (11 April 1940 – 17 August 1998) was a Polish shot put champion, who was born in Kaunas. Competing in three Summer Olympics in 1964–1972, he won the gold medal (21.18 m) at the Munich Games in 1972. His nickname was "King Kong" Komar as attributed to a Sports Illustrated article.

Biography

Komar later became an actor, appearing in more than ten films, including Kazimierz Wielki (1976), Soviet Boris Godunov (1986), Roman Polanski's Pirates (1986), as well as Magnat (1987) and Kiler (1997). He died in a car crash in 1998 along with another Polish Olympic champion, Tadeusz Ślusarski.

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing Poland
1962	European Championships	Belgrade, Serbia	4th	18.00 m
1964	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	9th	18.20 m
1966	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	3rd	18.68 m
1967	European Indoor Games	Prague, Czechoslovakia	3rd	18.85 m
1968	European Indoor Games	Madrid, Spain	2nd	18.40 m
	Olympic Games	Mexico City, Mexico	6th	19.28 m
1971	European Indoor Championships	Sofia, Bulgaria	4th	19.43 m
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	3rd	20.04 m
1972	European Indoor Championships	Grenoble, France	2nd	20.32 m
	Olympic Games	Munich, Germany	1st	21.18 m
1974	European Championships	Rome, Italy	6th	19.82 m
1977	European Indoor Championships	San Sebastián, Spain	3rd	20.17 m
1978	European Indoor Championships	Milan, Italy	2nd	20.16 m

References

Grave of Władysław Komar and Tadeusz Ślusarski in Warsaw.