Piotr Żyła facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Piotr Żyła
Żyła at the FIS Summer Grand Prix in Hinzenbach, 2016
Country	Poland
Born	(1987-01-16) 16 January 1987 (age 38) Cieszyn, Poland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Ski club	KS Wisła Ustronianka
Personal best	248 m (814 ft) Planica, 24 March 2019
World Cup career
Seasons	2004–
Individual wins	2
Team wins	6
Indiv. podiums	23
Team podiums	25
Indiv. starts	372
Medal record Representing  Poland Men's ski jumping World Championships Gold 2017 Lahti Team LH Gold 2021 Oberstdorf Individual NH Gold 2023 Planica Individual NH Bronze 2013 Val di Fiemme Team LH Bronze 2015 Falun Team LH Bronze 2017 Lahti Individual LH Bronze 2021 Oberstdorf Team LH Men's ski flying Ski Flying World Championships Bronze 2018 Oberstdorf Team Bronze 2020 Planica Team
Updated on 18 May 2024.

Piotr Paweł Żyła (born 16 January 1987) is a famous Polish ski jumper. He is a key member of the Polish national team and has competed in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olympics.

Żyła is a three-time World Champion. He won individual gold medals on the normal hill in 2021 and 2023. He also won a team gold medal in 2017. He has won many other medals at the World Championships, both by himself and with his team.

He is also skilled in ski flying, which involves jumping from even larger hills. He has won two bronze medals with the Polish team at the Ski Flying World Championships.

Personal Life

Piotr Żyła was born in Cieszyn, a town in Poland. He went to a special sports school in Zakopane, where he was a classmate of another famous Polish ski jumper, Kamil Stoch.

In 2006, he married Justyna Lazar, who is a cousin of the legendary Polish ski jumper Adam Małysz. Piotr and Justyna have two children. Their son, Jakub, was born in 2007 and is also training to be a ski jumper. Their daughter, Karolina, was born in 2012.

Career

Early Years

Żyła first tried ski jumping when he was only eight years old. He made his international debut in the Continental Cup in 2004. In 2006, he competed in the World Cup for the first time in Sapporo, Japan, and scored points in his very first event.

During these early years, he showed a lot of promise. He won a silver medal with the Polish team at the World Junior Championships. For a few seasons, he jumped in both the World Cup and the Continental Cup, working hard to improve his skills.

Breakthrough and First Big Wins

Żyła (far left) with his teammates after winning a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships.

The 2012-2013 season was a major turning point for Żyła. He started placing in the top 10 at World Cup events. At the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, he helped the Polish team win a bronze medal. His teammates were Kamil Stoch, Maciej Kot, and Dawid Kubacki.

On 17 March 2013, Żyła achieved a huge milestone. He won his first-ever World Cup event in Oslo, Norway. He shared the first place spot with Austrian jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer. This made him one of the few Polish jumpers in history to win a World Cup competition.

Team Success and World Champion

Żyła on the podium after finishing second in the prestigious 2016–17 Four Hills Tournament.

Żyła became a very important part of a strong Polish team. In 2015, he won another team bronze medal at the World Championships. In December 2016, the Polish team, including Żyła, won a World Cup team event for the first time in history.

The 2017 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, were very successful for him. He won a bronze medal in the individual large hill event. Then, on 4 March 2017, he and his teammates made history by winning the gold medal in the team event. It was Poland's first-ever team World Championship title.

Individual World Champion

Piotr Żyła during a jump in Vikersund.

While he had great success with his team, Żyła's biggest individual achievements came later in his career. At the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, he became the World Champion on the normal hill. He performed two amazing jumps to win the gold medal.

He proved this was no accident by doing it again two years later. At the 2023 World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, he defended his title and won the gold medal on the normal hill for the second time in a row. This cemented his status as one of the best ski jumpers in the world.

Olympic Games

World Championships

Place	Day	Year	Locality	Competition	Winner
35.	24 February	2007	Sapporo	individual	Simon Ammann
5.	25 February	2007	Sapporo	team	Austria
42.	3 March	2007	Sapporo	individual	Adam Małysz
19.	26 February	2011	Oslo	individual	Thomas Morgenstern
4.	27 February	2011	Oslo	team	Austria
21.	3 March	2011	Oslo	individual	Gregor Schlierenzauer
5.	5 March	2011	Oslo	team	Austria
23.	23 February	2013	Predazzo	individual	Anders Bardal
19.	28 February	2013	Predazzo	individual	Kamil Stoch
3.	2 March	2013	Predazzo	team	Austria
33.	21 February	2015	Falun	individual	Rune Velta
9.	26 February	2015	Falun	individual	Severin Freund
3.	28 February	2015	Falun	team	Norway
19.	25 February	2017	Lahti	individual	Stefan Kraft
3.	2 March	2017	Lahti	individual	Stefan Kraft
1.	4 March	2017	Lahti	team	—
19.	23 February	2019	Innsbruck	individual	Markus Eisenbichler
4.	24 February	2019	Innsbruck	team	Germany
33.	1 March	2019	Seefeld	individual	Dawid Kubacki
1.	27 February	2021	Oberstdorf	individual	—
6.	28 February	2021	Oberstdorf	mixed team	Germany
4.	5 March	2021	Oberstdorf	individual	Stefan Kraft
3.	6 March	2021	Oberstdorf	team	Germany
1.	25 February	2023	Planica	individual	—
8.	26 February	2023	Planica	mixed team	Germany
9.	3 March	2023	Planica	individual	Timi Zajc
4.	4 March	2023	Planica	team	Slovenia

Images for kids

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  Team competition in Val di Fiemme 2013

See also

In Spanish: Piotr Żyła para niños