Although the first documented Warsaw swimming competition in the Vistula took place as early as 1861, for the next few decades swimming was perceived as a sport discipline only for the brave. The first swimming section was set up at the Warsaw Rowing Association and...
Diving is one of the oldest Olympic events. Our fellow countryman from the U.S.A., Jerzy Gajdzik, received a bronze medal in this event in 1908. It was the first Olympic medal earned by a Pole, even though for another country. In the Second Polish Republic,...
Synchronised swimming is predominantly a women's sport, in which judges assess the artistic values of a choreographic routine synchronised with music. Spectacular swimming competitions, described as water ballet, require suitable predispositions, many hours of intensive training, endurance and breath control. Synchronised swimming has been part...
Ski jumping has never been associated with Warsaw, although almost 100 years ago a ski jump was built in Agrykola Park, where the best ski jumpers reached over 20 metres. The construction was demolished in the 1970s. Another, much more modern ski jump, used chiefly...
Nowe Dynasy is a cycling track designed by Janusz Kalbarczyk and put into use in Kamionek in 1972. This modern and multifunctional structure was the property of the Orzeł Sports Club. In its glory days the best Polish cyclists raced here, among others Czesław Lang,...
Before World War II the phrase “motor-paced racing” was clear for any inhabitant of Warsaw interested in sport. It acted as a magnet for fans and attracted to the Dynasy velodrome the multitudes which gathered to see races of cyclists following pacers on motorcycles. The first...
Ringo was invented in Warsaw in 1959 by Włodzimierz Strzyżewski, at that time a recognised fencer, who did not get leave to go on a training camp of the national fencing team. Forced to devise his own training to keep him in shape, Strzyżewski designed...
The today’s enormous popularity of football dates back to the moment of Poland’s regaining its independence. However, there were times when pictures of matches had to be taken in secret, because organized football was outlawed, which nevertheless did not discourage even 2000 spectators from gathering...
Photographing sport is a rewarding task, though the pictures in Sports in the City might come as a surprise. Rafał Wilk’s exhibition does not portray Warsaw’s sporting celebrities. This is no chronicle of achievements: eminent athletic contests or epic football, basketball and boxing matches. There...