Piotr Małachowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 7 June 1983) is a Polish retired

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er, two-time silver medalist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. His personal best throw is 71.84 metres, ranks him fifth in all-time longest discus throw distances, achieved on 8 June 2013 at

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Career

Małachowski's throwing distances are seen as even more remarkable as he is not as tall as most discus throwers. Małachowski is one inch shorter than Beijing Olympic champion Gerd Kanter and three inches shorter than world champion

Robert Harting Robert Harting (; born 18 October 1984) is a retired German discus thrower. He represents the sports club SCC Berlin, his coach is Torsten Schmidt (athlete), Torsten Schmidt. He is a former Olympic, World, and European champion in the men's dis ...

and discus great Virgillius Alekna. The typical height of a discus thrower is between . Despite his height disadvantage, Małachowski makes up for it with his incredible ring speed. Malachowski is seen as one of the quickest discus throwers in the ring of all time, closely followed by

Róbert Fazekas Róbert Fazekas (born 18 August 1975 in Szombathely) is a Hungary, Hungarian discus thrower, who won gold in the 2002 European Championships and silver in the 2003 World Championship. He finished first in the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was later ...

. On 19 August 2008, he won an Olympic silver medal in discus throw (67.82 m) placing behind Gerd Kanter (68.82 m). On 23 May 2009, in Halle he threw 68.75 m with a new PB and NR. On 14 July 2009, he was second in

IAAF Golden League The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize ...

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

(67.70 m) to be only beaten by Gerd Kanter (67.88 m). With an injured finger, Małachowski took a silver medal (69.15 m - NR) at 2009 World Championships in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In 2010, he took victory in

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual Track and field, track and field event normally held at the Stadio Olimpico, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 deat ...

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

(68.78 m), beating second-placed Gerd Kanter (67.69 m), and another win in

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

(69.83 m - NR). Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski in 2020

On 13 August 2016, Małachowski won his second Olympic silver (67.55 m), being surprisingly beaten by German Christoph Harting (68.37 m - PB). He announced shortly afterwards that he would sell his Olympic silver medal to raise funds for a 3-year-old boy with a rare form of cancer. The medal was sold at an auction a few days later.

Achievements

For his sport achievements, he received:
Golden Cross of Merit in 2008.
Golden Medal for Merit for Country Defence in 2009.
Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) 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 alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(5th Class) in 2009.

References

External links

* *
Piotr Małachowski
at the ''Polski Związek Lekkiej Atletyki'' * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malachowski, Piotr 1983 births Living people Polish male discus throwers Olympic athletes for Poland Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Poland People from Żuromin County World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes from Masovian Voivodeship World Athletics Championships athletes for Poland Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Śląsk Wrocław athletes Skra Warszawa athletes Diamond League winners Polish Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Polish sportsmen

Career

Achievements

See also

References

External links