Tadeusz Teodorowicz (1931-1965) also known as Teo was an international speedway rider from Poland and Great Britain.[1] He earned 5 international caps for the Poland national speedway team.[2]
| Born | 17 June 1931 Vilnius, Poland |
|---|---|
| Died | 21 January 1965 (aged 33) Swindon, England |
| Nationality | Polish / British |
| Career history | |
| Poland | |
| 1950 | Gwardia Gdynia |
| 1951–1957 | Spójnia Wrocław |
| Great Britain | |
| 1959-1964 | Swindon Robins |
| Individual honours | |
| 1963 | World final reserve |
| 1956 | European Championship finalist |
| 1964 | British Championship finalist |
Speedway career
editTeodorowicz rode in the top tier of British Speedway from 1959-1964, riding for Swindon Robins.[3] He was capped by both Poland and Great Britain and reached the final of the European Championship in 1956.[4]
He would eventually become a British citizen after escaping and seeking political asylum from the communist East while on a tour of the Netherlands in September 1958.[5] He spent four months in prison before gaining a Dutch passport and then moved to England. In England, he married Liliana Zajecka-Slonina, a local Swindon nurse of Polish origin. In 1963 he finished eighth in the British Championships, sealing a reserve spot at the final of the 1963 Individual Speedway World Championship. The following year he reached the final of the British Speedway Championship in 1964.[6]
He was in the best form of his career at the time and then tragedy struck when he suffered major head trauma in a match while riding for Swindon Robins against West Ham Hammers.[7] The match was held at the West Ham Stadium on 1 September 1964 and Teo was left with a skull fracture following a crash into the fence, this caused him to go into a coma. He was transferred to a London hospital and then moved to Swindon before he died several months later from Pneumonia, on 21 January 1965.[8]
World final appearances
editIndividual World Championship
edit- 1963 -
London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - Did not ride
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "In Memoriam". Custom House Kid. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ "History Archive". British Speedway. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Protest". Sunday Mirror. 10 July 1960. Retrieved 8 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "HISTORY SPEEDWAY and LONGTRACK". Speedway.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ "Speedway star dies at Swindon". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 22 January 1965. Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Tad "Teo" Teodorowicz". Motosport Memorial. Retrieved 21 July 2021.