Józef Szmidt

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Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Gold Rome 1960 Triple Jump
Gold Tokyo 1964 Triple Jump

Józef Szmidt (born March 28, 1935 in Miechowice (Bytom, Silesia) is a former Polish athlete. Having German roots, he is often referred to by the Germanized name Jozef Schmidt.

Szmidt, a mechanic by profession, was the world's leading triple jumper in the early 1960's, becoming European champion in 1958 and 1962, and Olympic champion in 1960 and 1964. The two latter years he was awarded the Sportsman of the Year prize in Poland. With a jump of 17,03 in 1960, Szmidt was the first triple jumper to reach 17 metres.

In 1975 Szmidt settled in West Germany, but returned to Poland in 1992.



Records
Preceded by
Flag of the Soviet Union Oleg Fedoseyev
Men's Triple Jump World Record Holder
1960-08-051968-10-16
Succeeded by
Flag of Italy Giuseppe Gentile
Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Poland Edmund Piątkowski
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year
1960
Succeeded by
Flag of Poland Ireneusz Paliński
Preceded by
Flag of Poland Ryszard Parulski
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year
1964
Succeeded by
Flag of Poland Irena Kirszenstein