A mechanic by trade, Ernest Gondzik took up wrestling in 1947 and won his first Polish national championship in the Greco-Roman, featherweight division in 1951. This led to him representing his country in that event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he was eliminated in round three. He then switched to the lightweight category and won seven more consecutive Polish national championships from 1954 through 1960. He capped his career with an appearance at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he was eliminated in round four, before retiring from active competition. He then worked as a wrestling coach with RKS Siła Mysłowice, at which point he moved to Witten, Germany. Among his students was two-time Olympian Jan Michalik.
Poland