Leszek Robert Blanik (born 1 March 1977 in
Wodzisław Śląski
Wodzisław Śląski (; german: Loslau, cs, Vladislav, la, Vladislavia, yi, וואידסלוב, Voydislav, szl, Władźisłůw) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 47,992 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Wodzisław Cou ...
) is a Polish
gymnast
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...
, World and Olympic champion in
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
. He was the first to perform a handspring double front vault in piked position which now has been
named after him.
Olympics
Blanik picked up a bronze in vault at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
On 18 August 2008, he won the gold medal in
men's vault at the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, becoming the first Polish Olympic champion in a gymnastics event.
World championships
Blanik won a gold medal in vault at the
2007 World Championships in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, earning him an individual berth to the
2008 Beijing Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
. He also has two World silver medals, from
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
in
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
, and
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Awards
For his sport achievements, Blanik received:
![POL Polonia Restituta Kawalerski BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/POL_Polonia_Restituta_Kawalerski_BAR.svg)
Knight's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
(5th Class) in 2008.
![POL Złoty Krzyż Zasługi BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/POL_Z%C5%82oty_Krzy%C5%BC_Zas%C5%82ugi_BAR.svg)
Golden
Cross of Merit in 2000.
References
External links
*
*
Blanik (vault animation)
1977 births
Living people
Polish male artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for Poland
Olympic gold medalists for Poland
Olympic gymnasts of Poland
People from Wodzisław Śląski
Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Silesian Voivodeship
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
European champions in gymnastics
{{Poland-Olympic-medalist-stub