Waldemar Baszanowski

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games • Other
SexMale
Full nameWaldemar Romuald•Baszanowski
Used nameWaldemar•Baszanowski
Born15 August 1935 in Grudziądz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie (POL)
Died29 April 2011 in Warszawa (Warsaw), Mazowieckie (POL)
Measurements165 cm / 64-67 kg
AffiliationsAZS Warszawa, Warszawa (POL)
NOC Poland
Medals OG
Gold 2
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 2

Biography

Waldemar Baszanowski was one of the greatest lifters ever pound-for-pound. He was the first man to clean & jerk 2½ times his bodyweight. Baszanowski won gold medals in both 1964 and 1968 at the Olympics in the lightweight class and was also World Champion in 1961, 1964-65, and 1968-69. He also won five silver medals at the World Championships, and was a five-time European Champion (1961, 1965, 1968-69 ,1971). Baszanowski was a great technician who did very well in the quick lifts of snatch and clean & jerk. He set 24 world records, capped by his greatest day, 26 June 1964, when he broke the world overall record three times in the same competition. After his lifting career ended, he became a lecturer at the Academy of Physical Education in Poland and a coach, both home and abroad, coaching the Indonesian national team for several years. In 1999, Baszanowski became President of the European Weightlifting Federation, serving through 2007. Baszanowski won numerous awards, being named Polish Sportsperson of the Year in 1969, and he was elected to the International Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 1993. At the end of the 20th century, Baszanowski was voted the third greatest weightlifter of all-time in several polls, trailing Turkey’s Naim Suleymanoğlu and Hungary’s Imre Földi. In 1969, Baszanowski suffered tragedy, when his first wife, Anita, was killed in a solo car accident, in which he was driving with her and his son, who survived the accident.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1960 Summer Olympics Weightlifting POL Waldemar Baszanowski
Lightweight, Men (Olympic) 5
1964 Summer Olympics Weightlifting POL Waldemar Baszanowski
Lightweight, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold
1968 Summer Olympics Weightlifting POL Waldemar Baszanowski
Lightweight, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold
1972 Summer Olympics Weightlifting POL Waldemar Baszanowski
Lightweight, Men (Olympic) 4

Other participations

Games Role NOC As
1964 Summer Olympics Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony POL Waldemar Baszanowski
1968 Summer Olympics Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony POL Waldemar Baszanowski
1972 Summer Olympics Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony POL Waldemar Baszanowski

Special Notes