Zbigniew Pietrzykowski facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Zbigniew Pietrzykowski

Pietrzykowski in 2007
Personal information
Nationality	Polish
Born	(1934-10-04)4 October 1934 Bestwinka, Poland
Died	19 May 2014(2014-05-19) (aged 79) Bielsko-Biała, Poland
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1956, 1960, 1964
Medal record Boxing Representing  Poland Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 1 2 World Championships 0 0 0 European Championships 4 0 1 Total 4 1 3 Olympic Games Silver 1960 Rome Light heavyweight Bronze 1956 Melbourne Light middleweight Bronze 1964 Tokyo Light heavyweight European Amateur Championships Gold 1955 West Berlin Light middleweight Gold 1957 Prague Middleweight Gold 1959 Lucerne Light heavyweight Gold 1963 Moscow Light heavyweight Bronze 1953 Warsaw Light middleweight

Zbigniew Jan Pietrzykowski (born October 4, 1934 – died May 19, 2014) was a famous Polish boxer. He is remembered for winning medals in three different Olympic Games.

At the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, he won a bronze medal. He competed in the light middleweight division. Four years later, at the Rome Olympics in 1960, he earned a silver medal. This was in the light heavyweight division. In the final match, he faced the legendary Cassius Clay, who was seven years younger than him. Zbigniew Pietrzykowski won another bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. This was also in the light heavyweight division.

European Boxing Success

Zbigniew Pietrzykowski was very successful in the European Amateur Boxing Championships. He took part in these championships five times. He won five medals in total.

European Medals

• He won a bronze medal in 1953 in Warsaw. This was in the light middleweight division.
• He then won four gold medals:
  • In 1955 in West Berlin (light middleweight).
  • In 1957 in Prague (middleweight).
  • In 1959 in Lucerne (light heavyweight).
  • In 1963 in Moscow (light heavyweight).

Polish National Champion

Pietrzykowski was also a champion in his home country, Poland. He won the Polish championship an amazing 11 times!

Championship Wins

• In the light middleweight division: 1954, 1955, and 1956.
• In the middleweight division: 1957.
• In the light heavyweight division: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965.

He was also a strong member of the Polish national team. He fought 44 matches for his country. He won 42 of these fights and only lost twice. In his entire boxing career, he fought 350 matches. He won 334 of them, had 2 draws, and lost only 14 times.

In 1986, Zbigniew Pietrzykowski was the first person to receive the Aleksander Reksza Boxing Award. This award honors great Polish boxers.

Olympic Journey

Zbigniew Pietrzykowski competed in three Olympic Games. Here's a look at his path to the medals.

1956 Melbourne Olympics

• Round of 16: He won against Richard Karpov from the Soviet Union.
• Quarterfinal: He won against Boris Nikolov from Bulgaria.
• Semifinal: He lost to Laszlo Papp from Hungary. He was awarded a bronze medal.

1960 Rome Olympics

• Round of 32: He won against Carl Crawford from British Guiana.
• Round of 16: He won against Emil Willer from Germany.
• Quarterfinal: He won against Petar Spasov from Bulgaria.
• Semifinal: He won against Giulio Saraudi from Italy.
• Final: He lost to Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) from the USA. He earned the silver medal.

1964 Tokyo Olympics

• Round one: He had a bye, meaning he didn't have to fight this round.
• Round two: He won against Ronald Holmes from Jamaica by disqualification.
• Quarterfinal: He won against Rafael Gargiulo from Argentina.
• Semifinal: He lost to Aleksei Kiselyov from the Soviet Union. He was awarded a bronze medal.

See also

In Spanish: Zbigniew Pietrzykowski para niños