Tomasz Robert Gollob (; born 11 April 1971 in Bydgoszcz, Poland) is a former Polish motorcycle speedway rider. He appeared in every

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

series between its inaugural season in 1995 and 2013. His brother

Jacek Jacek is a Polish given name of Greek origin related Hyacinth, through the archaic form of ''Jacenty''. Its closely related equivalents are: Jacinto (Spanish and Portuguese), Giacinto (Italian), Jácint ( Hungarian) and Jacint ( Catalan, shortene ...

is also a speedway rider.

Career summary

Tomasz Gollob spent almost all of his career with hometown club Bydgoszcz until he moved to Unia Tarnów in 2004. He has won the Polish Individual Championship eight times (between 1992 and 2009) and the Polish Pairs Championship ten times. He has also won the Polish Grand Prix eight times in thirteen years. He clinched the Speedway World Championship in 2010 after securing the championship in Terenzano, Italy. He is only the second

Pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...

to ever win the World Championship, following in the footsteps of Jerzy Szczakiel who won in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. Gollob also spent some time in Australia in the early-mid 1990s based at the

North Arm Speedway North Arm Speedway was the first dedicated motorcycle speedway ever built in Adelaide, South Australia and was located in the industrial suburb of Gillman. It was run by the Speedway Riders' Association of South Australia and ran from 1981 unt ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. While In Australia, Gollob would race against many of his future World Championship rivals including

Jason Crump Jason Philip Crump (born 6 August 1975) is an Australian international motorcycle speedway rider. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion. In a 21-year career in Speedway, Jason ...

Leigh Adams Leigh Scott Adams (born 28 April 1971 in Mildura, Victoria)Oakes, P.(2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion. He also w ...

, and

Ryan Sullivan Ryan Geoffrey Sullivan (born 20 January 1975, in Fitzroy, Victoria) is a retired Australian international Motorcycle speedway rider who has won the Australian senior, Under-21, and Under-16 championships during his career. Sullivan achieved ...

. Gollob is the only World Champion to win the Jack Young Solo Cup held in Adelaide each year in memory of Australia's

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

World Champion, Jack Young. He won the cup in 1995 at North Arm. Gollob was also a member of the

Poland speedway team The Poland national speedway team is the national motorcycle speedway team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Motor Union ( PZM). The team is one of the major teams in international speedway and they won the Team World Championship nine t ...

that won the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

in 1996 and the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011. In 2007 Gollob survived a plane crash with fellow rider

Rune Holta Rune Holta (born 29 August 1973 in Stavanger, Norway) is a speedway rider. He grew up in Randaberg Norway, but has been a Polish citizen since 2002, allowing him to represent Poland in international competitions and was a member of their Speedwa ...

. The plane, flown by his father Władysław, crashed on the way to a speedway meeting at

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

. Gollob escaped with cuts and bruises after pulling his father from the wreckage. In 2017 Gollob suffered serious injuries to head and spine in a motocross accident during a MX event in Northern Poland. For his sport achievements, he received the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

: *

Knight's Cross (5th Class) in 2000 * POL Polonia Restituta Oficerski BAR

Officer's Cross (4th Class) in 2007 * POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR

Commander's Cross (2010)

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

Pocking Pocking (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bocking) is a town in the district of Passau, in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is situated about 30 km south-west of Passau, close to the Austrian border. History A Roman settlement was founded in the a ...

, Rottalstadion - 7th - 8pts *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 16th - 0pts

World Pairs Championship

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center (with

Piotr Świst Piotr Świst (born June 20, 1968 in Poland) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. His surname "Świst" means 'whizz' in Polish. Career Świst spent his first 13 seasons in Poland with Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski from 1985 through t ...

Piotr Baron Piotr Baron (born 5 February 1974) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. Career Baron represented Poland during the 1993 Speedway World Team Cup and won the 1993 Bronze Helmet. He spent the majority of his career riding for Wroc ...

) - 5th - 15pts (15)

World Team Cup

Brokstedt Brokstedt is a municipality in the district of Steinburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after R ...

, Holsteinring Brokstedt - 2nd - 20pts (16) *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

- Bydgoszcz, Polonia Bydgoszcz Stadium - 6th - 13pts (12) * 1996 - Diedenbergen, Hofheim-Diedenbergen - Winner - 27pts (15) *

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Piła Piła (german: Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population as of 2021 was 71,846, making it the third-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań ...

, Stadion Żużlowy Centrum - 2nd - 25pts (13) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 4th - 17pts (15)

World Cup

* 2001 -

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

- 2nd - 65pts (27) * 2002 -

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, East of England Showground - 4th - 48pts (17) * 2003 -

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 4th - 49pts (20) * 2004 - Poole,

Poole Stadium Poole Stadium is a speedway and former greyhound racing venue located in the town centre of Poole, Dorset in England. The stadium is owned by the Borough of Poole. It was built in the early 1930s in an attempt to provide a source of entertainme ...

- 4th - 22pts (1) * 2005 -

- Winner - 62pts * 2007 -

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium - Winner - 55pts *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - 2nd - 46pts * 2009 -

, Alfred Smoczyk Stadium - Winner - 44pts * 2010 -

Vojens Vojens (german: Woyens) is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 7,475 (1 January 2022).Speedway Center - Winner - 46pts

Individual Under-21 World Championship

* 1992 -

Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm (Central Bavarian: ''Pfahofa an da Uim'') is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Pfaffenhofen. It is located on the river Ilm, and had a population of 23,282 in 2004. As of a press release in Octo ...

Speedway Stadion Pfaffenhofen Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

- 5th - 10pts

Speedway Grand Prix results

Family

Tomasz Gollob has two brothers and one sister

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gollob, Tomasz 1971 births Living people Polish speedway riders Individual Speedway World Champions Speedway World Cup champions Polish speedway champions Sportspeople from Bydgoszcz Polonia Bydgoszcz riders Ipswich Witches riders Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta