Andy Drzewiecki (born Andrzej Drzewiecki 9 November 1947) is a former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

and

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He won a bronze medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 1978Commonwealth Games Medallists – Weightlifting
/ref> in the heavyweight class of the

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

. He also competed at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. In 1979 he competed in the first ever Britain's Strongest Man, won by Geoff Capes, and came third in that event in 1982. Prior to that he had also competed successful at a national level in various field athletic events.

Sport

As a younger sportsman, Drzewiecki was a nationally renowned field athlete. He won the AAA Midland Counties discus championship in 1968 and 1969 and in 1973 won the shot put at the same championships. In the mid-seventies he shifted his focus to

and eventually won a bronze medal at the

in 1978 in the heavyweight class. He also competed at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow coming tenth. In 1979 he competed in the first ever Britain's Strongest Man, won by Geoff Capes, and came third in that event in 1982.

Life outside sport

Drzewiecki became a teacher. He was a subject of an unfair dismissal in 2007 the scale of which was such that it was reported on nationally by the BBC and other media. Having sent and then escorted a classroom bully to the head teacher of his primary school, the pupil alleged that he had used excessive force. Drzewiecki was ordered home from St Mary's Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent immediately. A police investigation was dropped, but Drzewiecki was sacked six months later in June 2007, following a disciplinary hearing. A subsequent employment tribunal, after five day days of hearings, ruled that Drzewiecki's dismissal had been "thoroughly unfair". Drzewiecki won compensation, but later said the incident made it "extremely difficult for him to work again as a primary teacher."BBC News, Tuesday, 3 March 2009 ''Pupil's slur killed my career''
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drzewiecki, Andy 1947 births Living people Weightlifters at the 1980 Summer Olympics English strength athletes English male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain English people of Polish descent Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Weightlifters at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games