Poland's sports include almost all sporting disciplines, in particular: football, volleyball, motorcycle speedway, ski jumping, track and field, handball, basketball, tennis, and combat sport. The first Polish Formula One driver, Robert Kubica, has brought awareness of Formula One Racing to Poland. Volleyball is one of the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competition. Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, Jaroslaw Hampel, Bartosz Zmarzlik, Maciej Janowski and Rune Holta. Speedway is very popular in Poland. They won the world cup (2014), and the Polish Extraleague has the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland. The Polish mountains are an ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Cross country skiing and ski jumping are popular TV sports, gathering 4–5 million viewers each competition, with Justyna Kowalczyk, Dawid Kubacki, Adam Małysz and Kamil Stoch as the main attractions. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.
Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań, is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division.
Kazimierz Klaudiusz Górski was a Polish professional football manager. He was also a football player, capped once for Poland.
Kazimierz Deyna was a Polish professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder in the playmaker role and was one of the most highly regarded players of his generation, due to his excellent vision.
Andrzej Szarmach is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Poland competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 207 competitors, 180 men and 27 women, took part in 116 events in 18 sports.
Jan Tomaszewski is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the 1970s. He kept goal for the Poland national teams that came third at the 1974 World Cup, where he was named Best Goalkeeper, that won the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and that competed at the 1978 World Cup. He is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Polish football. He was later a football commentator and politician.
Henryk Wojciech Kasperczak is a Polish former professional football manager and player.
Robert Gadocha is a Polish former professional footballer as a left winger.
Jerzy Paweł Gorgoń is a Polish former professional footballer who is best remembered for his participation in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was a 6'4" tall central defender, who became well known in 1967 while playing for Górnik Zabrze. He helped Zabrze to five consecutive Polish Cups in 1968–72. Gorgoń participated in the 1974 World Cup in, then, West Germany, winning third place with the Poland national team and being his squad's defensive pillar.
Lesław Ćmikiewicz is a Polish former professional football manager and former player. He played for Polish clubs including Śląsk Wrocław and Legia Warsaw. He also played for the New York Arrows and Chicago Horizon in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Władysław Antoni Żmuda is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a defender for Śląsk Wrocław, Widzew Łódź, Hellas Verona, New York Cosmos and US Cremonese. He earned 91 caps for the Poland national team and is a four-time FIFA World Cup participant. At the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where Poland claimed third place, he received the FIFA Young Player Award.
Marek Jan Koźmiński is a Polish football executive and former player who played as a left-sided defender or midfielder.
Kazimierz Kmiecik is a Polish former professional footballer who spent most of his career with Wisła Kraków, where he played 304 league matches and scored 153 goals. This makes him the best goalscorer in history of the club. He also played for Larissa and won the first Greek cup for the history of the team, in 1985. He is today a legend in Larissa and remains a fan favourite.
Antoni Jan Szymanowski is a Polish football manager and former player who played as a right-back. He was a member of the Poland national football team for two FIFA World Cups: 1974 and 1978. During those tournaments his club was Wisła Kraków. Szymanowski was one of the best defenders in Poland during the golden era of Polish football. In the later years of his career, he played for the Belgian team Club Brugge. His brother Henryk was a footballer as well.
Wojciech Władysław Rudy is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played mostly for Zagłębie Sosnowiec.
Henryk Piotr Wieczorek is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for a few clubs, including ROW Rybnik, Górnik Zabrze, as well as AJ Auxerre and US Melunaise in France.
Zygmunt Paweł Maszczyk is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Poland first participated at the Olympic Games in 1924, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then, except for the 1984 Games, when they were forced to be part of the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics. Poland has also participated in every Winter Olympic Games.
Marian Henryk Szeja was a Polish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the substitute player for the Poland national team at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where Poland won gold medal. Szeja died on 25 February 2015 at the age of 73.
