Polish Sports Personality of the Year

The Polish Sports Personality of the Year (Polish: Plebiscyt Przeglądu Sportowego na najlepszego polskiego sportowca roku) is chosen annually since 1926 by the readers of the newspaper Przegląd Sportowy, which makes it the second oldest such contest in the world.[1][2] The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most in the previous year.

Polish Sports Personality of the Year
Przegląd Sportowy magazine logo
Awarded forBest Polish sportsperson deemed to have achieved the most in the previous year
CountryPoland
Presented byPrzegląd Sportowy
First awarded1926
Websitewww.przegladsportowy.pl

The first winner of the award was track and field athlete Wacław Kuchar. Between 1939 and 1947, the contest was not held due to the Second World War. The most successful athletes in the contest's history are footballer Robert Lewandowski and swimmer Otylia Jędrzejczak with three titles each; track and field athletes Irena Szewińska and Stanisława Walasiewicz, as well as ski jumper Adam Małysz with four titles each; while cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk is the current leader who holds five titles.[3] Fencer Jerzy Pawłowski holds the record number of eleven appearances among the top 10 athletes. As of 2024, the award has been given to 59 male and 30 female athletes.

Apart from the main award, winners are announced in additional categories such as Super Champion Lifetime Achievement Award, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Sport Without Barriers Award for disabled athletes and Sporting Event of the Year.[4]

Polish Sports Personality of the Year

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Justyna Kowalczyk, a five-time winner of the award, holds the record number of wins
POLISH SPORTSPERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
YEAR ATHLETE SPORT
1926 Wacław Kuchar   athletics   football   ice hockey
1927 Halina Konopacka   athletics
1928 Halina Konopacka   athletics
1929 Stanisław Petkiewicz   athletics
1930 Stanisława Walasiewicz   athletics
1931 Janusz Kusociński   athletics
1932 Stanisława Walasiewicz   athletics
1933 Stanisława Walasiewicz   athletics
1934 Stanisława Walasiewicz   athletics
1935 Roger Verey   rowing
1936 Jadwiga Jędrzejowska   tennis
1937 Jadwiga Jędrzejowska   tennis
1938 Stanisław Marusarz   ski jumping
1939–1947 not awarded due to World War II
1948 Aleksy Antkiewicz   boxing
1949 Zdobysław Stawczyk   athletics
1950 Helena Rakoczy   gymnastics
1951 Zygmunt Chychła   boxing
1952 Zygmunt Chychła   boxing
1953 Leszek Drogosz   boxing
1954 Janusz Sidło   athletics
1955 Janusz Sidło   athletics
1956 Elżbieta Krzesińska   athletics
1957 Jerzy Pawłowski   fencing
1958 Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak   athletics
1959 Edmund Piątkowski   athletics
1960 Jozef Schmidt   athletics
1961 Ireneusz Paliński   weightlifting
1962 Teresa Ciepły   athletics
1963 Ryszard Parulski   fencing
1964 Jozef Schmidt   athletics
1965 Irena Kirszenstein   athletics
1966 Irena Kirszenstein   athletics
1967 Sobiesław Zasada   auto racing
1968 Jerzy Pawłowski   fencing
1969 Waldemar Baszanowski   weightlifting
1970 Teresa Sukniewicz   athletics
1971 Ryszard Szurkowski   road cycling
1972 Witold Woyda   fencing
1973 Ryszard Szurkowski   road cycling
1974 Irena Szewińska   athletics
1975 Zygmunt Smalcerz   weightlifting
1976 Irena Szewińska   athletics
1977 Janusz Pyciak-Peciak   modern pentathlon
1978 Józef Łuszczek   cross-country skiing
1979 Jan Jankiewicz   road cycling
1980 Władysław Kozakiewicz   athletics
1981 Janusz Pyciak-Peciak   modern pentathlon
1982 Zbigniew Boniek   football (soccer)
1983 Zdzisław Hoffmann   athletics
1984 Andrzej Grubba   table tennis
1985 Lech Piasecki   road cycling
1986 Andrzej Malina   wrestling
1987 Marek Łbik and Marek Dopierała   canoeing
1988 Waldemar Legień   judo
1989 Joachim Halupczok   road cycling
1990 Wanda Panfil   athletics
1991 Wanda Panfil   athletics
1992 Waldemar Legień   judo
1993 Rafał Kubacki   judo
1994 Andrzej Wroński   wrestling
1995 Paweł Nastula   judo
1996 Renata Mauer   shooting
1997 Paweł Nastula   judo
1998 Robert Korzeniowski   athletics
1999 Tomasz Gollob   motorcycle speedway
2000 Robert Korzeniowski   athletics
2001 Adam Małysz   ski jumping
2002 Adam Małysz   ski jumping
2003 Adam Małysz   ski jumping
2004 Otylia Jędrzejczak   swimming
2005 Otylia Jędrzejczak   swimming
2006 Otylia Jędrzejczak   swimming
2007 Adam Małysz   ski jumping
2008 Robert Kubica   Formula One
2009 Justyna Kowalczyk   cross-country skiing
2010 Justyna Kowalczyk   cross-country skiing
2011 Justyna Kowalczyk   cross-country skiing
2012 Justyna Kowalczyk   cross-country skiing
2013 Justyna Kowalczyk   cross-country skiing
2014 Kamil Stoch   ski jumping
2015 Robert Lewandowski   football (soccer)
2016 Anita Włodarczyk   athletics
2017 Kamil Stoch   ski jumping
2018 Bartosz Kurek   volleyball
2019 Bartosz Zmarzlik   motorcycle speedway
2020 Robert Lewandowski   football (soccer)
2021 Robert Lewandowski   football (soccer)
2022 Iga Świątek   tennis
2023 Iga Świątek   tennis

Most successful sportspeople

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Place Name 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Combined
1 Justyna Kowalczyk 5 0 0 5
2 Irena Szewińska 4 4 0 8
3 Stanisława Walasiewicz 4 0 4 8
4 Robert Lewandowski 3 3 1 7
5 Adam Małysz 4 0 2 6
6 Otylia Jędrzejczak 3 2 1 6
7 Janusz Sidło 2 4 1 7
8 Robert Korzeniowski 2 3 2 7
9 Kamil Stoch 2 2 1 5
10 Józef Szmidt 2 2 0 4

Winners by sport

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Irena Szewińska, a four-time winner of the award. With 30 winners, athletics is the most represented sport in the contest's history.
Sport First place(s)
Athletics 30
Ski jumping 7
Cross-country skiing 6
Judo 5
Cycling 5
Football 5
Boxing 4
Fencing 4
Tennis 4
Swimming 3
Weightlifting 3
Modern pentathlon 2
Wrestling 2
Speedway 2
Gymnastics 1
Formula One 1
Kayaking 1
Rallying 1
Shooting 1
Rowing 1
Table tennis 1
Volleyball 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lista nominowanych do tytułu Sportowca Roku w Plebiscycie Przeglądu Sportowego". Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ "HISTORIA PLEBISCYTU NA NAJLEPSZEGO SPORTOWCA POLSKI". Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  3. ^ "O PLEBISCYCIE "PRZEGLĄDU SPORTOWEGO"". Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Lewandowski bierze wszystko! Został najlepszym sportowcem Polski 2020 roku!" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-10.