Józef Szmidt (born Josef Schmidt; 28 March 1935 – 29 July 2024) was a German and Polish Olympic athlete and the first triple jumper to reach 17 metres.

Biography

Józef Schmidt was born in

Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and was a mechanic by profession. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Beuthen was transferred to Poland, Schmidt's family had to learn Polish, and their name was changed to Szmidt. He was the world's leading

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

er in the early 1960s, becoming European champion in 1958 and 1962, and Olympic champion and winner of Poland's ''Sportsman of the Year'' prize in 1960 and 1964. With a jump of 17.03 m in 1960, Szmidt was the first triple jumper to reach 17 metres. Szmidt won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in the triple jump event at the

1966 AAA Championships The 1966 AAA Championships was the 1966 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 8 to 9 July 1966 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, E ...

. In 1975 Szmidt settled in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, but returned to Poland in 1992. He was the brother of track and field athlete

Edward Szmidt Edward Szmidt (4 August 1931 – 29 April 2018) was a Polish sprinter. He competed in the men's 200 metres at the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melb ...

, who competed at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

. Szmidt died of cancer in Zagozd, on 29 July 2024, at the age of 89. His wife had died the week prior.

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* * * * 1935 births 2024 deaths Polish male triple jumpers People from the Province of Upper Silesia Sportspeople from Bytom Athletes from Silesian Voivodeship Olympic athletes for Poland Olympic gold medalists for Poland Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Polish people of German descent Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Śląsk Wrocław athletes Polish Athletics Championships winners Deaths from cancer in Poland 20th-century Polish sportsmen {{Poland-triplejump-athletics-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links