The Polish

Sports Personality of the Year Athlete of the Year is an award given by various sports organizations for the athlete whom they have determined to be deserving of such recognition. Definition of "athlete" *In many nations, an "athlete" primarily refers to someone who participat ...

(

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Plebiscyt Przeglądu Sportowego na najlepszego polskiego sportowca roku'') is chosen annually since 1926 by the readers of the newspaper ''

Przegląd Sportowy ''Przegląd Sportowy'' (, ''Sports Review'') is the oldest and now the only Polish sports daily, founded in 1921 in Kraków. In 1926 it initiated an annual, popular plebiscite for the Polish Sportspersonality of the Year. Its current editor-in-chie ...

'', which makes it the second oldest such contest in the world. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most in the previous year. The first winner of the award was track and field athlete

Wacław Kuchar Wacław Michał Kuchar (16 September 1897 – 13 February 1981) was a Polish sports champion, olympian, and multiple football, track and field and speed skating champion of the country. Kuchar excelled in many sports – track and field, footb ...

. Between 1939 and 1947, the contest was not held due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Record holders are footballer

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is co ...

and swimmer

Otylia Jędrzejczak Otylia Jędrzejczak (; born 13 December 1983) is a Polish swimmer. She was the Olympic champion from 2004 Athens in the 200 metre butterfly. She finished 4th in this event in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and also swam at the 2000 Summ ...

with three titles each; track and field athletes

Irena Szewińska Irena Szewińska (née Kirszenstein; Polish pronunciation: ; 24 May 1946 – 29 June 2018) was a Polish Sprint (running), sprinter who was one of the world's foremost athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athl ...

and

Stanisława Walasiewicz Stanisława Walasiewicz (3 April 1911 – 4 December 1980), also known as Stefania Walasiewicz, and Stella Walsh, was a Polish-American track and field athlete, who became a women's Olympic champion in the 100 metres. Born in Poland and raised ...

, as well as ski jumper

Adam Małysz Adam Henryk Małysz (; born 3 December 1977) is a Polish former ski jumper and rally driver. He competed in ski jumping from 1995 to 2011 and is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport. His many accomplishments include f ...

with four titles each; while cross country skier

Justyna Kowalczyk Justyna Maria Kowalczyk-Tekieli (born 19 January 1983) is a Polish cross-country skier who has been competing since 2000. Kowalczyk is a double Olympic Champion and a double World Champion. She is also the only skier to win the Tour de Ski four ...

is the current leader who holds five titles. Fencer

Jerzy Pawłowski Jerzy Władysław Pawłowski (25 October 1932 – 11 January 2005) was a Polish fencer and double agent. Life While a major in the Polish Army, Pawłowski won the gold medal in the individual saber event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico ...

holds the record number of eleven appearances among the top 10 athletes. As of 2022, the award has been given 59 times to male and 28 times to female athletes. Apart from the main award, winners are announced in additional categories such as Super Champion Lifetime Achievement Award, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Sport Without Barriers Award for disabled athletes and Sporting Event of the Year.

Polish Sports Personality of the Year

Justyna Kowalczyk på Royal Palace Sprint 2013

Most successful sportspeople

Winners by sport

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plebiscite of Przeglad Sportowy Sport in Poland National sportsperson-of-the-year trophies and awards Polish awards Awards established in 1926 1926 establishments in Poland

Polish Sports Personality of the Year

Most successful sportspeople

Winners by sport

See also

References