Walenty Kłyszejko ( et, Valentin Klõšeiko, russian: Валентин Клышейко; 2 December 1909 – 20 August 1987) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n–

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

basketball coach and player. He was also a professor of

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

at the

Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego Józefa Piłsudskiego w Warszawie, lit=Józef Piłsudski Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw) is a public institution of higher learning in Warsaw ...

. Klyszejko was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Some time in the 1910s, he moved with family to

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, where began playing basketball at the local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

team as well as for the national basketball team of Estonia, for which he capped five times. In the 1933, he came to Poland to study at The Academy of Physical Education in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and became a coach of

Polonia Warszawa Polonia Warsaw ( pl, Polonia Warszawa, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing Varsovian sports club, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contract ...

. In 1936 he became coach of the national basketball team of Poland, which at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

was placed on the fourth spot, the best in the history of Polish basketball. In 1939, during the European Championships, Poland under Klyszejko won bronze. Klyszejko fought in the

Polish September Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

, after which he managed to get to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, where he remained a soldier of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

. After the war, he returned to Poland, coaching the team of AZS-AWF Warszawa, writing books about sports and lecturing.

References

History of Polish basketball before World War IIOfficial webpage of Polish Government's Ministry of Sports

External links

* 1909 births 1987 deaths Basketball players from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Estonian people of Polish descent Polish basketball coaches Estonian men's basketball players Estonian basketball coaches Polish non-fiction writers Polish male non-fiction writers Polish military personnel of World War II Polish United Workers' Party members Naturalized citizens of Poland {{Poland-basketball-bio-stub