Zbigniew Bródka

Zbigniew Bródka
Personal information
Born (1984-10-08) 8 October 1984
Głowno, Poland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Country Poland Poland
Sport Speed skating
Club UKS Błyskawica Domaniewice
Coached by Krzysztof Niedźwiedzki
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 1
World Championships 0 0 1
Total 1 0 2
Olympic Games
2014 Sochi Individual 1500 m
2014 Sochi Team pursuit
World Championships
2013 Sochi Team pursuit

Zbigniew Bródka (Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛf ˈbrutka]; born 8 October 1984) is a Polish speed skater and a 2014 Olympic champion in 1500 metres. He also works as a firefighter in the State Fire Service station in Łowicz.

Personal life

Bródka was born in Głowno, Poland, on 8 October 1984.[1] Since 2009 he works as a firefighter in the State Fire Service (Polish: Państwowa Straż Pożarna) station in Łowicz.[2] He represents a local sports club, UKS Błyskawica Domaniewice.[3] He is married to Agnieszka and has two daughters - Gabriela and Amelia.[4]

Competitive career

Before becoming a long track speed skater, Bródka competed in middle-distance running and short track.[2] He often trains in Germany, as Poland lacks appropriate facilities for long track speed skating.[2][5] When he trains in Poland, Bródka is forced to improvise, including using roller skates to imitate ice skating movements.[2][5] In 2006, an accident prevented him from participating in the 2006 Winter Olympics.[2] In 2010, he made his Olympic debut in Vancouver, finishing 27th in the men's 1500 metres.[2] In the following years he took part in a number of Polish and European championships, placing well and winning several competitions (total of five gold medals until 2014) in Poland.[2][3]

At the 2013 World Single Distance Championships, Bródka helped Poland capture the bronze medal in the men's team pursuit with teammates Jan Szymański and Konrad Niedźwiedzki.[6] It was the first victory for Poland's male speed skaters in that discipline.[7] In the 2012–13 season he also won the men's 1500 metres World Cup, the first Polish speed skater to do so.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi he became the 2014 Olympic champion in 1500 metres, winning by only 0.003 sec.[2] He is the first Pole to receive a gold medal in this discipline.[2]

Personal records

Zbigniew Bródka won gold in the 1500 at the Sochi Olympics
Personal records[8]
Men's speed skating
Event Result Date Location Notes
500 m 35.80 16 February 2013 Vikingskipet, Hamar
1000 m 1:07.87 19 January 2013 Olympic Oval, Calgary Current Polish record[9]
1500 m 1:42.89 15 November 2013 Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City Current Polish record[9]
3000 m 3:50.42 13 October 2012 Eisstadion Inzell, Inzell
5000 m 6:34.18 11 January 2014 Vikingskipet, Hamar
10000 m 14:09.29 17 February 2013 Vikingskipet, Hamar

References

  1. 1 2 "Zbigniew Bródka". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 p.mal. "Zbigniew Bródka – złoty strażak z Domaniewic". Rzeczpospolita. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Bródka, czyli błyskawica z Polski. Mistrz, prywatnie strażak – Sport w TVN24". Sport.tvn24.pl. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bródka: cieszę się, że dołączyłem do ikon polskiego sportu". Eurosport.onet.pl. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 "W Polsce ćwiczy na desce, jeździ w Niemczech. Tak trenuje Bródka – Sport w TVN24". Sport.tvn24.pl. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Canadian speed skaters capture silver in team pursuit". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian Press. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "MŚ w łyżwiarstwie szybkim: historyczny medal Biało-Czerwonych". Eurosport.onet.pl. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  8. ↑ "Zbigniew Bródka". speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  9. 1 2 "National Records – Poland (POL)". speedskatingresults.com. Retrieved 24 December 2013.


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