Sport in Poland

Poland's sports include amost all sports, in particular: track & field, basketball, boxing, fencing, football (soccer), American football, handball, ice hockey, swimming, volleyball, and weightlifting. The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has also brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Football is the country's most popular sport, with a rich history of international competition. Poland has also made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, a highly successful Polish rider. The Polish mountains are an ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.

=Basketball=

* Dominet Bank Ekstraliga (DBL) - Polish Men's Basketball League (=Polska Liga Koszykówki, PLK)
* Torell Basket Liga (TBL) - Polish Women's Basketball League (=Polska Liga Koszykówki Kobiet, PLKK)
* Polish Cup in men basketball
* Polish Cup in women basketball
* Polish national basketball team
* Polish women's national basketball team

=Football (soccer)=

* Poland national football team
* Polish Championship in Football
* Polish Cup
* Polish SuperCup
* Polish Cup in women football
* Polish women's national football team

Polish National Football Team

The Polish National Football Team was the winner of the 1972 Olympic Football Tournament, as well as a runner-up in 1976 and 1992. Poland has made seven Fifa World Cup appearances (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006) and achieved great success, finishing third at both the 1974 World Cup in Germany and the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The junior team has also achieved success on the international stage, finishing third at the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final, fourth at the 1979 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final and fourth at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup Final.

Host of UEFA Euro 2012 with Ukraine
Poland will host the UEFA Euro 2012 along with Ukraine in 2012. It will be the first time Poland has hosted an event of this size.

=Handball=

* Polish Seria A Handball League
* Polish Seria B Handball League
* Polish Seria A Women's Handball League
* Polish Seria B Women's Handball League
* Polish Cup in men handball
* Polish Cup in women handball
* Poland national handball team
* Polish women's national handball team

Rally

In Poland for many years held Polish Rally Championship (Rajdowe Samochodowe Mistrzostwa Polski) RSMP are played from 1928. The Rally of Poland (Rajd Polski) is the second oldest rally in the world after the famous classic Rally Monte Carlo. Between 1998-2001 the level was the strongest in Europe because racing many great drivers in WRC cars. For a poor policy PZM rallies have lost rank, but they are still popular in Poland.

Rugby union in Poland

* Poland national rugby union team

=Speedway=

* Polish national team
* championships:
** Individual Speedway Polish Championship (IMP)
** Polish Pairs Speedway Championship (MPPK)
** Team Speedway Polish Championship (DMP)
*** Speedway Ekstraliga
* junior U-21 championships:
** Individual Speedway Junior Polish Championship (MIMP)
** Polish Pairs Speedway Junior Championship (MMPPK)
** Team Speedway Junior Polish Championship (MDMP)

=Volleyball=

* Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkowki, PLS)
* Polish Seria B Men's Volleyball League
* Polish Seria A Women's Volleyball League
* Polish Seria B Women's Volleyball League
* Polish Cup in men volleyball
* Polish Cup in women volleyball
* Poland men's national volleyball team
* Polish women's national volleyball team

Other sports

*Amateur Radio Direction Finding is a sport that combines the skills of orienteering with the skills of radio direction finding. ARDF in Poland is organized by the [http://www.pzk.org.pl/ Polski Zwiazek Krotkofalowcow] .

*Cycling in Poland

*Orienteering is a popular sport that combines cross-country running with land navigation skills in the woods. Orienteering in Poland is organized by the Polski Związek Biegu na Orientację [http://orienteering.org.pl/] .

*Polish American Football League (PLFA - pl. Polska Liga Futbolu Amerykańskiego) is the league of the American Football in Poland, founded in 2006.

Famous Polish athletes

*Grzegorz Lato, footballer (born 8 April 1950 in Malbork, Poland) - Lato is the all-time cap leader for the Polish National Football Team. He was the leading scorer at the 1974 Fifa World Cup, where he won the Golden Shoe after scoring a tournament best seven goals. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with a third place finish at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish at the 1974 championships in Germany. Lato retired from professional soccer in 1984 with 45 international goals, a record that stands to this day.

*Adam Małysz, ski jumper (born 3 December 1977 in Wisła, Poland) - Małysz won two Olympic medals (Silver, Bronze) at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He has also won an incredible 38 World Cup competitions, second only to Finland's Matti Nykänen (46) on the all-time list. He is the first ski jumper ever to win the World Cup 3 times in a row.

* Irena Szewińska, sprinter (born Irena Kirszenstein on 24 May 1946 in Leningrad, Russia, - Between 1964 and 1980 Szewińska participated in five Olympic Games, winning seven medals, three of them gold. She also broke six world records and was the first woman to hold world records at 100 m, 200 m and 400 m at the same time. She also won 13 medals in European Championships. Between 1965 and 1979 she gathered 26 titles of Champion of Poland in 100 m sprint, 200 m sprint, 400 m sprint, 4x400 m relay and long jump.

* Tomasz Gollob, motorcycle speedway rider (born 11 April 1971 in Bydgoszcz, Poland) - Gallob is Poland's most recognized motorcyclist. He has finished in the top ten of the Speedway Grand Prix 11 times, including his best performance in 1999 when he captured second place.

* Taj Salmonski, rally racer, taxi commissioner (born 15 March 1905 in Radomsko, Poland) - Began his career as a rally racer, ramping over the competition in his #11 signature blue custom Model" T "Sultan" Tudor. Once the holocaust began he gave up his racing career to start a taxi service as a front for a small scale, but quite successful smuggling operation to help his fleeing kinsmen. He flew Poland's flag until the very end, and will always be remembered to those who knew him by his "thin little bird lips", his most distinguishable feature.

*Mariusz Pudzianowski, a professional strongman (born February 7, 1977) - He started Kyokushin in 1988, weight training in 1990 and box in 1992. At the end of the1990s he focussed on strongman competitions. He is one of the three men that won the World's Strongest Man title (in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007) near Jón Páll Sigmarsson and Magnus Ver Magnusson.

* Andrzej Gołota, boxer (born 5 January 1968) - In his early days, Gołota had 111 wins in a stellar amateur career that culminated in his winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Gołota also captured a Bronze Medal at the 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships. His professional record stands at 39 wins, 6 losses, one no contest and one draw, with 32 knockouts.

* Jerzy Dudek, football player (born 23 March 1973 in Rybnik, Poland) - Dudek, a famous Polish goalkeeper began his professional career with Sokół Tychy, a team in the Polish National Football League where he played one season in 1995-96. Between 1996 and 2002, Dudek was a member of Feyenoord Rotterdam of the Eredivisie league in The Netherlands, where he won the 1998-99 Dutch League Championship and the 1999–2000 Dutch Super Cup. During his stay with Feyenoord he also received the league's highest goalkeeping honors, winning the Dutch Keeper Of The Year Award twice (1998–99, 1999-2000. In 2002 Dudek was transferred to Liverpool of the English Premier League, where he became a household name, winning the League Cup in 2002–03, the UEFA Champions League in 2004–05 and the European Super Cup in 2005–06, as well as the FA Cup in 2005–06. Presently Dudek plays for Real Madrid in Spain. He has made 56 appearances for the Polish National Team.

* Mariusz Czerkawski, hockey player (born 13 April 1972 in Radomsko, Poland) - Czerkawski has enjoyed a successful career in the National Hockey League with a total of 215 goals, 220 assists and 435 points in 745 games. Throughout his 14-year NHL career, Czerkawski played for the Boston Bruins (1993-96, 2005-06), Edmonton Oilers (1996-97), New York Islanders (1997-2002, 2003-04) Montreal Canadiens (2002-03) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2005-06). Czerkawski represented Poland in the 1992 Winter Olympics where he collected one assist in five games. Presently, he plays for the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Nationalliga A in Switzerland.

* Krzysztof Oliwa, hockey player (born 12 April 1973 in Tychy, Poland) - Former professional ice hockey player who played the left wing position in the National Hockey League. Oliwa was nicknamed "The Hammer" due to his physical and intimidating on-ice presence. At 6'5", with a strong build, he would normally play the role of the team's enforcer. Oliwa won the 1999-2000 Stanley Cup as a member of the New Jersey Devils. Oliwa has also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames.

* Zbigniew Boniek, soccer player (born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz, Poland - He played on Zawisza Bydgoszcz, Widzew Łódź, Juventus and AS Roma. In 2004 Pelé got him on the FIFA 100 list.

* Helena Rakoczy, (born 23 December 1921 in Kraków , Poland). Gymnast at Olympics (1952, 1956), and World Championships (1950, 1954). World Individual All-Around, Vault, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise champion in 1950. Inducted into International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2004.

* Robert Kubica, - (born 7 December 1984 in Kraków , Poland), Robert Kubica is the first Polish Formula One driver. He made his racing deput at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He experienced his first podium finish at Monza, Italy at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix. During this race he finished third and stood on the podium next to Michael Schumacher (Germany) and Kimi Räikkönen (Finland). In the 2007 Formula One season he survived a horrific crash at the Canadian Grand Prix. Kubica came out of the crash with only a sprained ankle and minor concussion. Robert Kubica scored his very first victory in Formula 1 at 2008 Canadian Grand Prix (it was also the very first win for BMW Sauber team). Robert Kubica has brought Formula One to Poland, bringing along with him many new fans. He is currently racing for the BMW Sauber Formula One Team alongside his teammate Nick Heidfeld (Germany).

* Sobiesław Zasada, - (born 27 January 1930 in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland) is a Polish former rally driver. He won the European Rally Championship (the current World Rally Championships) in 1966, 1967, 1971 and was vice-champion in 1968, 1969, 1972.

* Filip Osmolski, - (born 27 September 1987 in Warsaw, Poland), Filip Osmolski is a semi-professional footballer who plies his trade with IMG Second Division challengers Real Ale Madrid. Brought to the fore by Co-Managers Luke Havill and Mike Platt at the beginning of the 2007-08 season, great things were expected of the tall Polish striker. However, he found it difficult to adapt to the psysical nature of the Welsh game, and struggled to impact upon games from his position on the sidelines. A goal against Cardiff Crusaders (an impressive header from the edge of the area) saw a brief reversal in his footballing fortunes. However this remains his only goal for the club and since the turn of the year Filip has had limited opportunities to prove his worth. With an array of striking talent already at the club, current management have preferred the prolific forward partnership of the equally inexperienced Michael McCabe and the clinical Dean Pickin. Tabloid rumours such as those circulating from the Gair Rhydd have linked Osmolski with a lucrative summer transfer to IMG rivals J-Unit. End of season awards added substance to these rumours with the hard-working striker scooping the fiercely contested and prestigious International Player of the Year Award. Osmolski remains optimistic of his chances of holding down a first team place next season under the astute guidance of new home-grown manager Gethin Davies.

* Agnieszka Radwanska

ee also

List of famous Polish athletes