Jerzy Szczakiel (born 29 January 1949, Grudzice, Poland) is a Speedway rider. He is one of two Polish nationales to win the Speedway World Championship, the other being 2010 Speedway Grand Prix champion Tomasz Gollob.[1]
Szczakiel first rode in the World Final in 1971 at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden where he failed to score in his five rides. Szczakiel's next (and last) World Final was in 1973 at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland. In front of the largest crowd in world speedway history (estimated to be around 130,000), he scored 13 points, winning his first 3 rides and finishing 2nd in his last two. He won the title after a run-off with the defending champion Ivan Mauger of New Zealand after both riders tied on 13 points. Mauger fell in the run-off, leaving Szczakiel to finish unchallenged and win the championship. Fellow countryman Zenon Plech finished third.[2]
Szczakiel was also winner of the World Pairs Championship with Andrzej Wyglenda in 1971. He scored 15 points in the final, held at the Rybnik Municipal Stadium in Rybnik, Poland.[3]
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