Mieczysław Połukard (1930 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 official ...

, Poland – 26 October 1985 in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland) was a Polish

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

rider and coach, the first Polish rider to ride in the Individual World Championship Final in 1959 and won the World Team Cup in 1961.

Career

He began his racing career with

Sparta Wrocław Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

. In 1955 he moved to Polonia Bydgoszcz. He was the first Polish rider to ride in the Individual World Championship Final (1959) where he finished 12th with 5 points. He also represented

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

in the World Team Cup three times, in 1960 (4th place), 1961 (gold medal) and 1962 (bronze medal). He was Individual Polish Champion once in 1954. He also rode in Golden Helmet Finals, but he never finished high enough to win a medal.

Accident

In 1968 he decided to retire. In his last match, he was involved in an accident on track, which resulted hospital treatment which required amputating his leg.

Death

He became a coach for Polonia Bydgoszcz. During track training sessions on the track he stood on the centre green coaching the riders. However, on 25 October 1985, a rider from

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Dece ...

lost control of his motorcycle and ran into Połukard, killing him.

Memorial

Since 1986 ''Criterium of Polish Speedway Leagues Aces'', speedway meeting in

who official opening of the new season, have a Mieczysław Połukard name (Polish: ''Kryterium Asów Polskich Lig Żużlowych im. Mieczysława Połukarda'').

Honours

* Individual World Championship **''1956 - 14th in Continental Final'' **''1957 - 12th in Continental Semi-Final'' **''1958 - 11th in Continental Quarter-Final'' ** 1959 - 12th place - 5 points (0,2,0,1,2) - First Polish rider in World Final ** 1960 - track reserve in World FinalBamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. **''1961 - 15th in European Final'' **''1962 - 12th in Continental Semi-Final'' **''1963 - 10th in Continental Semi-Final'' **''1964 - 10th in Continental Quarter-Final'' * World Team Cup ** 1960 - 4th place - 2 points (0,1,0,1) ** 1961 - World Champion - 5 points (2,1,2,-) ** 1962 - Bronze medal - 0 point (0)

World Final Appearances

Individual World Championship

* 1959 -

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

- 12th - 5pts * 1960 -

- Reserve, did not ride

World Team Cup

* 1960 -

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Ullevi (with

Konstanty Pociejkowicz Konstanty may refer to: given name: * Konstanty Adam Czartoryski (1777–1866), Polish prince, Brigadier General * Konstanty Andrzej Kulka (born 1947), Polish violinist, recording artist, and professor * Konstanty Borzęcki (1826–1876), parti ...

/ Marian Kaiser / Jan Malinowski) - 4th - 7pts (2) * 1961 -

Wrocław Wrocław (; , . german: Breslau, , also known by other names) is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, roughly ...

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(with Marian Kaiser / Henryk Żyto / Florian Kapała / Stanisław Tkocz) - Winner - 32pts (5) * 1962 -

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administr ...

(with Marian Kaiser / Florian Kapała / Joachim Maj / Paweł Waloszek) - 3rd - 20pts (0)

Individual Ice Speedway World Championship

* 1966 - Ufa/

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

- 14th - 9pts

References

1930 births 1985 deaths Polish speedway riders Polish sports coaches Polish speedway champions Polonia Bydgoszcz riders {{poland-speedway-bio-stub