Zygmunt Chychła

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Medal record
Men’s Boxing
Competitor for Flag of Poland Poland
Olympic Games
Gold 1952 Helsinki Welterweight
European Amateur Championships
Gold Milan 1951 Welterweight
Gold Warsaw 1953 Welterweight

Zygmunt Chychła (born November 6, 1926 in Danzig (Polish Gdańsk) - a boxer, who won the first, after World War II, an Olympic gold medal for Poland.

In 1939 he began trainings in Polish boxing club Gedania. During the war he lost his Gdansk citizenship, and was compulsorily incarnated to Wehrmacht in 1944. Then he deserted in France, and moved for the 2nd Polish Army led by general Władysław Anders in Italy. He returned to Poland in 1946.

In 1947, he made his debut in boxing national team of Poland, led by a famous coach Feliks Stamm. He started in the Olympic Games at London 1948 where he reached a quarter-final. In 1951 he won the European Amateur Boxing Championships in Milan. He was chosen the best Polish Sportspersonality of the Year in a Plebiscite of the Sport Review.

Chychła won gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki beating in end a representative of the Soviet Union, Sergey Shcherbakow. In road to a final, he won against Julius Torma (Czechoslovakia), the Olympic Champion from London 1948 and the European Champion from Oslo 1949. In the same year he won again at the Plebiscite of the Sport Review.

After the Olympic Games, he found out, that ill is on tuberculosis. He decided to resign with sport, however not wanting to it lacked on Championships of Europe competitor in Warsaw 1953 Polish sport powers introduced him in mistake, claiming, that disease backed off. He won again gold medal there. Tuberculosis unrolled as a result of lack of treatment of at athlete, which caused in lungs considerable pit. Broken down, he finished in 1953 year sport career. At the beginning of 70-ties, he emigrated to Germany.

He stepped out 17 times in national team of Poland (15 fights won and 2 lost). In his career, he rolled down 263 fight, 241 won, 10 drew and 12 lost.

Awarded the Honourable Citizen of City of Gdańsk title in 2003.

Today Zygmunt Chychła lives in Senior's House in Hamburg.

Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Poland Helena Rakoczy
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year
19511952
Succeeded by
Flag of Poland Janusz Sidło
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