Marek Petrusewicz

Marek Petrusewicz
Personal information
Surname:	Marek Petrusewicz
Nation:	Poland
Swimming style (s) :	chest
Birthday:	January 22, 1934
Place of birth:	Vilnius
Date of death:	3rd October 1992
Medal table

Marek Petrusewicz (born January 22, 1934 in Vilnius ; † October 3, 1992 ) was a Polish breaststroke swimmer and two-time world record holder in this swimming style .

Swimming successes

Petrusewicz 'world records in the 100 m chest date from October 18, 1953 (1: 10.90 min.) And May 23, 1954 (1: 09.80) and were both set in Breslau . Petrusewicz replaced his great competitor and four-time world record holder in this discipline from Vladimir Ivanovich Minaschkin on both occasions . At the same time, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (Fina) saw itself prompted to make several changes to the rules for breaststroke swimming (see notes on the list of swimming world records over 100 meters breaststroke ). Petrusewicz preferred an extra long diving phase compared to the 15 meters allowed today and sometimes did not appear at all on the short course .

He took part with the Polish team in the 1954 European Swimming Championships in Turin , where he won the silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke in 2: 42.5 minutes. behind the GDR athlete Klaus Bodinger (2: 40.9). At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, he won no medal.

In 1977 the director Filip Bajon shot a film about the athlete with well-known actors, including Andrzej Trzaskowski and Jan Pietrzak , under the title Rekord świata .

Medical history

Petrusewicz lost both legs due to an illness of Winiwarter-Buerger's disease . The amputation of the first took place in 1967, after which, however, he was able to recover enough that it was enough to successfully participate in competitions for the disabled . The amputation of the second leg became necessary after the deterioration in the state of health during the martial law in Poland due to arrests and attacks by members of ZOMO in 1983.

In 1986 Petrusewicz suffered a stroke with left-sided paralysis and loss of speech .

Political commitment

Petrusewicz joined the Solidarność union early on. In December 1981, he was beaten at a demonstration and placed in an unheated prison cell for two weeks. This may have been one of the reasons for a second outbreak of Winiwarter-Buerger syndrome, which eventually led to the amputation of the second leg in 1983.

Private

Petrusewicz's birthplace Wilna had to leave with him after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania . Petrusewicz was married twice and had a daughter from his first marriage. In his second marriage he was connected to the actress and singer Joanna Rawik . Alcohol addiction and loss of control played a not insignificant role in his life . In the final phase of his life, the successes of the second Polish swimming world record holder Artur Wojdat and not the changed political situation in his country could cheer him up.

He didn't notice the swimming success of his young grandson Łukasz Wójt .

Web links

• Marek Petrusewicz on juvenia.pl (Polish)
• World records 100 m breaststroke (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Marek Petrusewicz in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
2. ↑ http://www.filmweb.pl/film/Rekord+%C5%9Bwiata-1977-9110