Waldemar Legień

Waldemar Legień

Waldemar Legień (born August 28, 1963 in Bytom ) is a Polish athlete who won gold medals in judo at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992 .

In 1981 he won the European Junior Championship in the lightweight. In 1985 he won his first major medal in the adult class when he was second in the light middleweight division (class up to 78 kg) at the European Championships, and in the same year he finished fifth at the World Championships. In 1986 he reached third place at the European Championships. Legień also won bronze at the 1987 World Championships. He won his first major title at the 1988 Olympic Games , when he defeated the West German defending champion Frank Wieneke in the final . In 1989 he was again third at the World Cup.

From 1990 Legień competed in the middleweight (class up to 86 kg) and became European champion straight away. In 1991 he won his third consecutive World Championship bronze medal at the Olympic dress rehearsal in Barcelona. With the final victory over the French Pascal Tayot at the 1992 Olympic Games , he became the fourth judoka to become a two-time Olympic champion after Wim Ruska , Peter Seisenbacher and Hitoshi Saitō . Legień's change in weight led to the curiosity that the Olympic middleweight champion won his second gold medal in 1988 with Seisenbacher and 1992 with Legień. It was not until 2004 that Tadahiro Nomura, a judoka, achieved the third consecutive Olympic victory . In addition to his medals at international championships, Legień also won three World Cup tournaments: 1989 in Warsaw, 1990 in Rüsselsheim and 1991 in Leonding.

The 1.80 m tall Legień fought for GKS Czarni Bytom and studied in Danzig. He holds the 7th Dan and has worked as a trainer since the end of his active career.

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. Chronicle IV. Seoul 1988 - Atlanta 1996. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-328-00830-6 .

Web links

• Profile on alljudo.net
• Waldemar Legień on Judoinside (English)