Stanisław Marusarz

Stanisław Marusarz was a Polish skier and ski jumper who competed at four Winter Olympics. He was one of the best skiers during the interwar period. In 1938 Marusarz won the silver medal in the ski jump at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and was named the Polish Sports Personality of the Year.

Marusarz took part in children’s competitions when he was 10-years-old. When he was 16 Marusarz joined SN PTT Zakopane and competed in his first ski jump event outside of Poland. Marusarz won his first title in the 1929/1930 season in Lviv. In 1931 Marusarz won his first Polish title. In 1935 Marusarz broke the world record in the ski jump, a jump that remained the Polish record until 1955.

Marusarz’s first Olympic appearance was at the 1932 Lake Placid Games where he competed in three events. Marusarz’s best finish was 17th place in the ski jump. Marusarz also competed in the 18 kilometres cross-county and the Nordic combined, where he finished 27th in both events. At the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics Marusarz finished in fifth place in the ski jump and joint-seventh in the Nordic combined. After World War II, Marusarz competed in the ski jump at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics and the 1952 Oslo Olympics. He finished in 27th place on both occasions. Marusarz was also the flag bearer for Poland at the Opening Ceremony at the 1948 and 1952 Games.

When World War II broke out, Marusarz joined the Polish Home Army to fight against the Germans. Marusarz helped to escort people and worked on transferring conspiracy materials and money for the Polish underground. He was captured twice, escaping the first time, before being recaptured and sentenced to death at the hands of the Gestapo. Marusarz managed to escape for a second time, making his way to Hungary, where he stayed until the war ended.

Marusarz’s ski jumping achievements were extraordinary. Marusarz won titles in Yugoslavia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and England. In the 1930s he set four Polish ski jumping records. From 1932 to 1952 Marusarz was a 21-time Polish champion. Marusarz was also a four-time Polish champion in Nordic combined and a four-time national champion in downhill skiing, and won national titles in Alpine skiing and the 5×10 kilometres cross-country relay. Marusarz was decorated with multiple awards, including the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari, the Cross of Valour, the Gold Cross of Merit, the Armia Krajowa Cross, and the Polish Army Medal.