Polish athletics competitor
Władysław Komar
Władysław Komar in 1972
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Born
| 11 April 1940
Kaunas
, Lithuania
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Died
| 17 August 1998 (aged 58)
Przybiernow
, Poland
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Alma mater
| Academy of Physical Education in Pozna?
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Years active
| 1962?1980
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Height
| 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
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Weight
| 125 kg (276 lb)
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Sport
| Shot put
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Club
| Lechia Gda?sk
Wybrze?e Gda?sk
Gwardia Warszawa
Polonia Warszawa
[1]
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Coached by
| Sławomir Zieleniewski
Janusz Koszewski
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Władysław Stefan Komar
(11 April 1940 ? 17 August 1998) was a Polish
shot putter
, actor and
cabaretist
. Competing in three
Summer Olympics
between 1964 and 1972, he won the gold medal at the
Munich
Games in
1972
with a throw of 21.18 metres.
[1]
His nickname was "King Kong" Komar as attributed to a
Sports Illustrated
article.
His personal bests in the shot put were 21.19 metres outdoors (Warsaw 1974) and 20.32 metres indoors (Grenoble 1972), both being
national records
during his career.
Early life
[
edit
]
Władysław Komar was born in
Kaunas
,
Lithuania
on 11 April 1940 to Władysław Komar-Zabo?y?ski and Wanda Jasi?ska. As a Polish
noble family
they owned a mansion in Rogowek (Lithuanian:
Raguv?l?
). Both of his parents were athletes ? father competed for Lithuania as Vladas Komaras at the
1934 European Athletics Championships
in the high jump and 110 metres hurdles, mother was a shot putter, who set a national record in the early 1930s. During World War Two the family moved to Gulbiny (Lithuanian: Didieji Gulbinai). His father, who during war helped the Polish anti-German resistance movement, the Home Army, was murdered in 1944 in Gliti?k?s by a group of
Ypatingasis b?rys
militia.
[2]
[3]
After the entrance of the Red Army in 1945 young Wladysław escaped with his mother and older sister to Warsaw as the mother feared they might get sent to Syberia by the Soviets like many former land owners. They first travelled through Białystok to Warsaw before his being placed in an orphanage near
Pozna?
, in Western Poland.
[4]
In 1953, after graduating from primary school by the orphanage, his mother brought him to live with her in Warsaw.
Boxing career
[
edit
]
The first sport that Komar took up was
amateur boxing
, which he started practising in 1955 and competed in the heavyweight category.
[5]
He went as far as representing his country at the under-20 level. His last fight was in a junior team match against Italy in 1959 when he was knocked out by Giorgio Masteghin in the first round.
[6]
After that he got convinced to switch to athletics although initially he also practised rugby and handball.
[7]
Athletics career
[
edit
]
At the beginning of his athletics career he also competed in the high jump and decathlon. He even set a Polish record in the latter in 1963. Komar's major championships debut came at the
1962 European Championships
in Belgrade where he finished fourth behind compatriot
Alfred Sosgornik
. In February next year he threw 18.60 metres, his first
national record
.
[8]
In June 1964, he improved the national record to 19.50 metres, just 6 centimetres shy of the European record.
[9]
This result made him one of the favourites for the October
Olympic Games
held in Tokyo, however, he only managed ninth place with 18.20 metres. In 1966 he set the Polish indoor record of 19.20 metres and later that year the outdoor record of 19.61. Afterwards he competed at his second
European Championships
in Budapest where he managed the bronze.
At his third Olympic Games, in Munich, he won the
shot put competition
throwing 21.18 metres, just one centimetre further than the American
George Woods
and four ahead of East Germans, Briesenick and Gies.
After retirement
[
edit
]
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).
[10]
He took part in the professional wrestling show, organised by a former Polish Olympic wrestler,
Andrzej Supron
, which toured the Soviet Union in 1989 and 1990.
[11]
[12]
Death
[
edit
]
He died on 17 August 1998 in a car crash coming back from an athletics meeting in Mi?dzyzdroje together with another Olympic gold medallist, pole vaulter
Tadeusz ?lusarski
.
[1]
[13]
The car they hit was driven by another athlete, former sprinter,
Jarosław Marzec
, who died several days later. A memorial athletics meeting in their name is held every year in Mi?dzyzdroje.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Władysław Komar was married twice. His first wife, Małgorzata Spychalska (b. 1942), was a daughter of
Marian Spychalski
, a prominent Polish communist politician. They divorced in 1973.
[14]
With his second wife Maria (1950?2008), a former volleyball player, he had one son Mikołaj (b. 1977) who went on to become a photographer.
Competition record
[
edit
]
Year
|
Competition
|
Venue
|
Position
|
Notes
|
Representing
Poland
|
1962
|
European Championships
|
Belgrade, Serbia
|
4th
|
18.00 m
|
1964
|
Olympic Games
|
Tokyo, Japan
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9th
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18.20 m
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1966
|
European Championships
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Budapest, Hungary
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3rd
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18.68 m
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1967
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European Indoor Games
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Prague, Czechoslovakia
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3rd
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18.85 m
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1968
|
European Indoor Games
|
Madrid, Spain
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2nd
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18.40 m
|
Olympic Games
|
Mexico City, Mexico
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6th
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19.28 m
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1971
|
European Indoor Championships
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Sofia, Bulgaria
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4th
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19.43 m
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European Championships
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Helsinki, Finland
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3rd
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20.04 m
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1972
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European Indoor Championships
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Grenoble, France
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2nd
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20.32 m
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Olympic Games
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Munich, Germany
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1st
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21.18 m
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1974
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European Championships
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Rome, Italy
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6th
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19.82 m
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1977
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European Indoor Championships
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San Sebastian, Spain
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3rd
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20.17 m
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1978
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European Indoor Championships
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Milan, Italy
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2nd
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20.16 m
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Filmography
[
edit
]
- Kazimierz Wielki
(1975) as Władzio
- Skradziona kolekcja
(1979) as Driver
- Pirates
(1986) as Jesus
- Boris Godunov
(1986) as Sobansky
- Przyłbice i kaptury
(1986, TV series) as Dzieweczka
- Magnat
(1987) as Guide in the palace
- Opowie?? Harleya
(1988) as Man working for Witek
- Sonata marymoncka
(1988) as Zieli?ski
- W klatce
(1988) as Landlady's husband
- And the Violins Stopped Playing
(1988) as Dombrowski
- La Treizieme voiture
(1993) as Alexander
- Blood of the Innocent
(1994) as Thug
- Kiler
(1997) as Uszat
- Prostytutki
(1998) as Szogun, Bodyguard at Gejsza
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Władysław Komar
. sports-reference.com
- ^
Komar, Władysław; Lis, Jan (1992).
Wszystko por?bane
(in Polish). Katowice: Stapis.
- ^
"Rogowek"
.
Dwory i pałace pogranicza
(in Polish)
. Retrieved
20 June
2019
.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 31?32.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 115.
- ^
"Dual match U-20 Poland vs Italy results"
.
amateur-boxing.strefa.pl
. Retrieved
20 June
2019
.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 119?120.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 134.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 138.
- ^
Wladyslaw Komar
. IMDb
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 8?13.
- ^
Wrestling czyli jak zostałem Amerykaninem
(in Polish)
- ^
Wallechinsky, David
; Loucky, Jaime (2012).
The Complete Book of the Olympics 2012 Edition
. London:
Aurum Press
. p. 253.
ISBN
978 1 84513 695 6
.
- ^
Komar/Lis 1992, p. 56.
External links
[
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International
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National
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People
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