Zygmunt Heljasz (21 September 1908 – 12 June 1963) was a Polish athlete. He competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in the shot put and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

and finished in 7th and 13th place, respectively. He also placed 7th in the shot put at the

1934 European Athletics Championships The 1st European Athletics Championships were held in Turin, Italy, at the Stadio Benito Mussolini between 7 and 9 September 1934. A contemporaneous report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Results Medalists and complete results were ...

. Heljasz was a multiple national champion in the shot put, discus throw and hammer throw. Heljasz first trained in boxing and finished second at the national heavyweight championships. He changed to athletics in 1926, and already in 1927 was included into the national team. He competed at the 1928 Olympics, but in 1936, due to a conflict with the Polish Athletic Federation was excluded from the Olympic team and banned from competitions for one year. He turned to coaching, first in Brussels, Belgium, and then in Katowice. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

he was imprisoned in the

Sachsenhausen Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

and

Gross-Rosen , known for = , location = , built by = , operated by = , commandant = , original use = , construction = , in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945 , gas cham ...

concentration camps. After the war he continued coaching athletics in Szczecin.

References

1908 births 1963 deaths Polish male shot putters Polish male discus throwers Olympic athletes of Poland Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Poznań Gross-Rosen concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors {{Poland-athletics-bio-stub