Zenon Smiechowski (born May 13, 1955) is a Canadian 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 ...

who specialised in

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

. Born in Poland, Smiechowski moved to Canada as a child in 1964, settling with his family in

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

, Alberta. Smiechowski began competing seriously in athletics towards the end of high school and in 1975 became Canadian junior decathlon champion. He didn't get a chance to compete at the following year's

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 Montreal as the Canadian delegation opted to not send a decathlete. A Simon Fraser University varsity athlete, Smiechowski won the national senior decathlon title every year from 1976 to 1979. He finished in the bronze medal position at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

in San Juan, behind Bobby Coffman and

Tito Steiner Tito Steiner (born March 1, 1952 in Paraguay) is a retired decathlete of German descent who represented Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the current Argentine record holder in the event. __TOC__ Career He set a national record in ...

. From 1982 to 1998, Smiechowski was coach of Simon Fraser University's track & field and cross country programs, which he led to 10 NAIA national championships, having particular success in women's cross country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiechowski, Zenon 1955 births Living people Canadian decathletes Canadian male track and field athletes Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Alberta Sportspeople from Grande Prairie Polish emigrants to Canada Canadian track and field coaches Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Competitors at the 1979 Summer Universiade Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners