Justyna Kowalczyk (born 19 January 1983 in Limanowa, Poland) is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. She is an Olympic champion and also a double World Champion. She won
Tour de Ski four times in a row and World cup four times, She won five medals (2-gold,1-silver,2-bronze) in the
Olympic Games and seven medals (2-gold,3-silver,2-bronze) in the World Championships.
Irena Szewińska, sprinter (born Irena Kirszenstein, 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, Szewińska has gathered 26 titles of Champion of Poland in 100 m sprint, 200 m sprint, 400 m sprint, 4 × 400 m relay and long jump.
Agnieszka Radwańska, (born 6 March 1989 in Kraków, full name Agnieszka Roma Radwańska) is a
WTA Tour former World No. 2
Polish tennis player. Finalist
The Championships, Wimbledon in 2012 and the winner of
2015 WTA Finals.
Adam Małysz, ski jumper (born 3 December 1977 in
Wisła,
Poland) – Małysz won four Olympic medals (3 silver, 1 bronze) at the
2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and
2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and has won the World Championships for 4 times, and got 1 silver and bronze medal. He has also won an incredible 39 World Cup competitions, which gives him third place on the all-time list, behind Austria's
Gregor Schlierenzauer (52) and Finland's
Matti Nykänen (46). He is the first ski jumper ever to win the World Cup 3 times in a row. After concluding his ski jumping career, Małysz has appeared in the
Dakar Rally.
Robert Korzeniowski, (born 30 July 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 Pudzianowski, a professional
strongman (born 7 February 1977) – He started
Kyokushin in 1988,
weight training in 1990 and
box in 1992. At the end of the 1990s he focussed on strongman competitions. He is one of the three men that won the
World's Strongest Man title (in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008) near
Jón Páll Sigmarsson and
Magnus Ver Magnusson. He is also the only man to ever win the World's Strongest Man title 5 times.
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.
Tomasz Adamek, a professional heavyweight boxer (born 1 December 1976) – his professional record (as of March 2013) is: 48 wins, 2 losses, with 29 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. Between 2007 and 2011 Dudek played for
Real Madrid in Spain, and then retired. He has made 60 appearances for the Poland National Team.
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. Today, he is the president of the
Polish Football Association. He was elected as the president on 26 October 2012.
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 debut at the
2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. In only his third race 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 first victory in Formula 1 at
2008 Canadian Grand Prix (it was also the first win for the
BMW Sauber team). Robert Kubica has brought Formula One to Poland, bringing along with him many new fans. In February 2011, he had a crash in the Rally Ronde di Andora. He went through long rehabilitation processes. In 2013,
Kubica started racing in the
World Rally Championship with immediate success, winning
WRC-2 championship in
2013. He then moved to top
WRC class for
2014 season. After testing for the
Renault F1 team during the 2017 season, he became
Williams' official development driver for 2018. The year after he was promoted up to the main seat, with a full time contract with
Williams for the
2019 season, unfortunately the car was the slowest of the field and he was not renewed for 2020. While he remained as reserve driver for the
Sauber team (named
Alfa Romeo Racing at the time) until 2023, he didn't get a full time seat in F1 again. Since 2022, he's been racing on the
World Endurance Championship (WEC), where he remains to this day, now as an
AF Corse driver, piloting the
Ferrari 499P Hypercar after winning the championship in the
LMP2 category in
2023.
Sobiesław Zasada (born 27 January 1930 in
Dąbrowa Górnicza), is a Polish former rally driver. He won the
European Rally Championship in 1966, 1967, 1971 and was vice-champion in 1968, 1969, 1972.
Paweł Zagumny (born 18 October 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. In his prime, Zagumny was widely considered as the best setter in the world.
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 15 times, including his best performance in 2010 when he captured first place.
Alan Kulwicki (14 December 1954 – 1 April 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American
NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He won the 1992 Cup Series championship.
Grzegorz Lato, footballer (born 8 April 1950 in
Malbork,
Poland) – Lato is the all-time cap leader for the Poland 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. On 30 October 2008, he was elected as the president of the
Polish FA, but on 26 October 2012,
Zbigniew Boniek became the Association's president.
Jadwiga Jędrzejowska was a successful tennis player before the WWII,
Wojciech Fibak during the 1970s and 1980s,
Agnieszka Radwańska until her retirement from tennis in 2018.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk (born 18 August 1987), is a
mixed martial artist who competes in the women's strawweight division of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is a former
UFC Women's Strawweight Champion and previously held the title for 9 ==Gallery==