Zbigniew Podlecki (19 January 1940 – 8 January 2009) was a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who won Team World Champion title in 1965. He was born in Vilnius, Lithuania.[1]
 | |
| Born | 19 January 1940 Vilnius, Lithuania |
|---|---|
| Died | 8 January 2009 (aged 68) Gdańsk, Poland |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Career history | |
| Poland | |
| 1958-1972 | Gdańsk |
| Individual honours | |
| 1964 | European Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 1965 | World Team Cup |
Career
edit
Podlecki began riding as a 19-year-old, during the 1959 Polish speedway season for LPŻ Neptun Gdańsk.[2] The team then became Legia Gdańsk and he helped them to a second place finish in the top division of the Polish leagues. In 1962, the team became Wybrzeże Gdańsk, for which it is still known today.[3]
Podlecki was called up to the Poland national speedway team in 1964 and also in 1964 he won the Individual Speedway European Championship in Wrocław, before reaching the World final in Gothenburg.[4] The following year he helped Poland win the 1965 Speedway World Team Cup.[5][6] Podlecki toured the United Kingdom with the Polish national team in 1966.[7]
His career ended during the 1972 Polish speedway season, when on 19 August, returning from his parents house he had a car accident after trying to avoid a pedestrian who had run out into the road. The crash left him with paralysis from the waist down.[2]
He died in Gdańsk in January 2009[8] and after a resolution of the Gdańsk City Council and with the agreement of his team Wybrzeże Gdańsk, the stadium was renamed in his honour and it is now called the Zbigniew Podlecki Stadium.[2]
World Final Appearances
editIndividual World Championship
edit- 1964 -
Göteborg, Ullevi - 14th - 3pts - 1969 -
London, Wembley Stadium - Reserve - 3pts
World Team Cup
edit- 1964 -
Abensberg, Abensberg Stadion (with Andrzej Pogorzelski / Andrzej Wyglenda / Marian Kaiser / Marian Rose) - 4th - 16pts (3) - 1965 - Kempten (with Andrzej Wyglenda / Antoni Woryna / Andrzej Pogorzelski) - Winner - 28pts (7)
- 1967 - Malmö, Malmö Stadion (with Jerzy Trzeszkowski / Andrzej Pogorzelski / Andrzej Wyglenda / Antoni Woryna) - 2nd - 26pts (3)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Zbigniew Podlecki Polska". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "ZBIGNIEW PODLECKI DIED 13 YEARS AGO". Na Wirazu. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 1962". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 98. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ "European finalists on city circuit". Star Green 'un. 30 July 1966. Retrieved 11 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Information about death" (in Polish). wprost.pl.
External links
edit- Podlecki at LotosGdansk.pl (in Polish)