Bronisław Czech
Photo from 1934
Country Poland
Born(1908-07-25)25 July 1908
Zakopane, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,
Austria-Hungary
Died4 June 1944(1944-06-04) (aged 35)
Auschwitz-Birkenau,
German-occupied Poland
Personal best79.5 m (261 ft)
Ponte di Legno, Kin. of Italy
(1931)

Bronisław "Bronek" Czech (Polish pronunciation: [brɔˈɲiswaf ˈtʂɛx]; 25 July 1908 – 4 June 1944) was a Polish sportsman and artist. A gifted skier, he won championships of Poland 24 times in various skiing disciplines, including Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and ski jumping. A member of the Polish national team at three consecutive Winter Olympics, he was also one of the pioneers of mountain rescue in the Tatra Mountains and a glider instructor. He was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp.[1]

Biography

Czech was born 25 July 1908[2] in Zakopane, then in Austro-Hungarian Galicia. His parents were Józef Czech and Stanisława née Namysłowska. There he attended local public school and a private gymnasium, but in the end he finished only three classes of a local wood industry school (in 1927).[3] The same year he joined the SN PTT-1907 Klub Sportowy Kemping Zakopane.[4] In late 1920s he moved to Warsaw, where he graduated from the Central Institute of Physical Education. This gave him the diploma of a professional gymnastics teacher and a skiing instructor.[3]

He was 24 times Polish champion in different ski competitions and took part in the Winter Olympics of 1928, 1932 and 1936. He finished 10th in the Nordic combined and 37th in the ski jumping at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. Four years later, at the 1932 Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York, Czech was 7th in the Nordic combined, 12th in ski jumping and 18th in the 18 km cross-country event. At his final Olympics of 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen he finished 16. in the Nordic combined, 20th in Alpine skiing, 33rd in both ski jumping and the 18 km cross-country event, and 7th in the 4 x 10 km cross-country relay.

During the Second World War he was a soldier of Polish Underground (Home Army) and courier from occupied Poland to the West. He was captured by Germans, imprisoned and murdered in the German concentration camp Auschwitz. Some of his paintings are preserved in the concentration camp's museum.[5]

Invalid ski jumping world record

Date Hill Location Metres Feet
1931   Trampolino Gigante Corno d’Aola Ponte di Legno, Kingdom of Italy 79.5 261

  Not recognized! Crashed shortly after standing at world record distance, although judges recognized it.

Bronisław Czech in literature

  1. The Hamsa by E.S. Kraay, ISBN 1451518412

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bronisław Czech.
  1. ↑ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Some sources cite 16 August of the same year.
  3. 1 2 (in Polish) olimpijski.pl Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Olimpijczycy SN PTT, SN PTT 1907.
  5. ↑ (in English)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.