Helena Rakoczy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Helena Rakoczy |
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Rakoczy in 1950
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | Poland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 December 1921 Krakow |
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| Died | 2 September 2014 (aged 92) Krakow |
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| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Helena Rakoczy (born Krzynówek; 23 December 1921 – 2 September 2014) was a famous Polish gymnast. She won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics with the Polish team. Helena also became a 4-time World champion. In total, she earned seven medals at the World Championships. She was born in Kraków, Poland.
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Helena Rakoczy's Gymnastics Journey
Helena Rakoczy trained at several clubs in Krakow. These included Sokół Kraków, Korona Kraków, and Wawel Kraków. She had coaches like Celek Kozioł and Urszula Stępińska.
Her promising career was put on hold during World War II. This was when Poland was occupied from 1939 to 1945. Despite this break, Rakoczy won 26 national titles in Poland.
Becoming a World Champion
In 1950, Helena competed at the 1950 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Basel. She made history by becoming the first and only Polish gymnast to win the all-around title. This means she was the best gymnast across all events.
At the same championships, she also won gold medals. These were for the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars.
Olympic Challenges and Successes
Helena later took part in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki. She faced some difficulties during the competition. Her performance was not as strong as expected, especially on the uneven bars. This led to her finishing 43rd in the all-around. The Polish team placed 8th overall.
Her performance was affected by wrist injuries. She also dealt with stress related to challenges with a team official. Despite these issues, she continued her career.
In 1954, she competed at the World Championships in Rome. She won two bronze medals there. One was for the all-around competition, and the other was for the vault. To this day, she remains the most decorated Polish gymnast ever. This includes both male and female gymnasts.
Olympic Bronze Medal
In 1956, Rakoczy was part of the Polish team at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne. Her teammate was Natalia Kot, who later became a European champion.
The Polish team won a bronze medal in the team portable apparatus event. They tied with the USSR team. In the all-around team final, Poland finished fourth. The teams ahead of them were the USSR, Hungary, and Romania.
Individually, Helena also performed well. She finished 8th in the all-around. She was 7th on vault, 5th on uneven bars, 16th on balance beam, and 14th on floor exercise.
Helena Rakoczy's amazing career was recognized in 2004. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. This is a very high honor for gymnasts.
Helena Rakoczy's Life After Competing
Helena Rakoczy was born on December 23, 1921, in Kraków, Poland. After she stopped competing, she became a coach. She coached the Polish National and Olympic teams in 1960, 1964, and 1972.
She also coached in the United States. There, she helped Polish American gymnasts in cities like Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Toledo, and Cleveland. She also worked as an international judge for gymnastics competitions.
In May 2014, a school in Gdańsk was named after her. It is called the Private Primary School and Kindergarten "Olympijczyk."
Helena Rakoczy passed away on September 2, 2014, in her hometown of Krakow. She was 92 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Helena Rakoczy para niños
