Roman Korban

Roman Korban earned his first medals at the Polish Indoor Athletics Championships in 1948, when he was second in the 800 metres and the 3x800 metres relay. He then took silver in the 800 metres and the 4x400 metres relay at the 1949 national outdoor championships, before earning his only indoor title, in the 800 metres, in 1950. That same year, he was second in the outdoor championships but, in 1951, he won both the 800 and the 1500 metres outdoors. He retained the 800 metres title in 1952 and was selected to represent Poland in that event at that year’s Helsinki Olympics, where he was eliminated in round one.

Korban took one more national medal, silver in the 800 metres outdoors in 1953, and then retired from active competition to focus on his education and coaching. He graduated from the Warsaw Academy of Physical Education in 1956 and earned a PhD from the Academy of Physical Education in Poznań in 1981. In addition to coaching, he wrote several works on the history of sport and travelled internationally to work as a specialist in spinal rehabilitation.

Personal Best: 800 – 1:51.8 (1951).