 Jacek Wszoła in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1956-12-30)30 December 1956 (age 68)[1] |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | High jump |
| Club | AZS Warszawa |
| Coached by | Stanisław Janowski Roman Wszoła |
Medal record | |
Jacek Roman Wszoła (born 30 December 1956 inWarsaw, Poland) is a retiredPolishhigh jumper best known for winning gold and silver medals at the1976 and1980 Summer Olympics respectively. Wszoła is also a one-timeworld record holder with the result of 2.35 metres.
With his father Roman being an athletics coach, Jacek Wszoła was close to the sport since a very young age. He, eventually, also gave it a try – initially training for the hurdles before switching to high jump.
Wszoła started competing in 1971[2] and by 1974, aged just 17, made his first national senior team for the1974 European Championships in Rome, finishing fifth. His first international title came a year later in Athens where he became theEuropean Junior Champion.
Wszoła, then 19 years old, caused a big surprise at the1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Competing in heavy rain, he managed to win over more favoured athletes. Incidentally, shortly before the games his father-coach made him train on wet tartan to prepare him for such circumstances.[2]
Following his success in the Olympic year, Wszoła won gold medals at the1977 European Indoor Championships in San Sebastián and the1977 Summer Universiade in Sofia. He also finished second inFinal A of that year'sEuropean Cup. The following season was much less successful as he only managed seventh place at the1978 European Indoor Championships in Milan and fourth at the1978 European Championships in Prague.
In 1980, soon before the Olympics, Wszoła was back in form, breaking the world record with 2.35 metres. At theMoscow Olympics, he finished second behind the East GermanGerd Wessig, who also beat Wszoła's world record by one centimetre. One month after the Olympics Wszoła was seriously injured at a domestic meet in Poznań, tearing ligaments in his ankle, which ruled him out of the sport for 18 months.[1][3] Wszoła was never able to regain his old form.
After missing out the entire 1981 season, Wszoła made a comeback in 1982 competing at the1982 European Championships in Athens where he got into a dispute with his national federation. After the qualification round, it was noticed that he was competing in shoes of a different manufacturer than was then the official sponsor of the Polish team. As Wszoła refused to compete in the shoes provided by his federation he was not allowed to start in the final and was sent back home.[2][3] For this infringement Wszoła was disqualified for six months.[4]
The following year was also not very successful with Wszoła finishing only 11th in his last Universiade in Edmonton and 13th in the inauguralWorld Championships in Helsinki. In 1984 Poland, under pressure from the Soviet Union, boycotted theLos Angeles Olympic Games instead sending its athletes to the alternative competition, theFriendship Games in Moscow. The competition took place in a pouring rain and Wszoła, having witnessed one of the athletes break an arm, decided to fake an injury to avoid a real one.[2][5]
His last major international outing was the1987 European Indoor Championships, where he only managed eleventh place. The following year, he failed to make the Polish team for the1988 Summer Olympics. Wszoła finished his professional career in 1989,[6] although he later competed in masters competitions, among others winning the M40 category at the 1997 European Masters Championships.[7]
His wife Krystyna was also an athlete. They have two children, Jacek and Anna.[6]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Poland | ||||
| 1974 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 5th | 2.19 m |
| 1975 | European Indoor Championships | Katowice, Poland | 11th | 2.16 m |
| European Junior Championships | Athens, Greece | 1st | 2.22 m | |
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | 1st | 2.25 m |
| 1977 | European Indoor Championships | San Sebastián, Spain | 1st | 2.25 m |
| Universiade | Sofia,Bulgaria | 1st | 2.22 m | |
| World Cup | Düsseldorf,West Germany | 3rd | 2.24 m1 | |
| 1978 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy | 7th | 2.21 m |
| European Championships | Prague,Czechoslovakia | 6th | 2.21 m | |
| 1979 | World Cup | Montreal, Canada | 2nd | 2.27 m |
| Universiade | Mexico City,Mexico | 4th | 2.26 m | |
| 1980 | European Indoor Championships | Sindelfingen,West Germany | 2nd | 2.29 m |
| Olympic Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 2nd | 2.31 m | |
| 1982 | European Championships | Athens, Greece | 3rd (q) | 2.21 m2 |
| 1983 | Universiade | Edmonton, Canada | 11th | 2.20 m |
| World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 13th | 2.23 m | |
| 1984 | Friendship Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 4th | 2.15 m |
| 1987 | European Indoor Championships | Liévin, France | 11th | 2.20 m |
1Representing Europe
2Did not start in the final
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's High Jump World Record Holder 2m35 equalled byDietmar Mögenburg on 1980-05-26 1980-05-25 – 1980-08-01 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
