Andy Drzewiecki (born Andrzej Drzewiecki, 9 November 1947) is a former

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

and

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He won a bronze medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

in 1978Commonwealth Games Medallists – Weightlifting
/ref> in the heavyweight class of the

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

. He also competed at the

1980 Summer Olympic Games The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

in Moscow. In 1979 he competed in the first ever

Britain's Strongest Man Britain's Strongest Man is an annual strongman event held in the United Kingdom. Competitors qualify for the final through regional heats and the winner is awarded the title of "Britain's Strongest Man". The competition is produced by TWI and ...

, won by

Geoff Capes Geoffrey Lewis Capes JP (23 August 1949 – 23 October 2024) was a British shot putter, strongman, and Highland Games competitor. He was famous in the UK in the 1980s for his sporting prowess and appearances on television in shows such as '' ...

, and came third in that event in 1982. Prior to that he had also competed successful at a national level in various field athletic events.

Sport

As a younger sportsman, Drzewiecki was a nationally renowned field athlete. He won the AAA Midland Counties discus championship in 1968 and 1969 and in 1973 won the shot put at the same championships. In the mid-seventies he shifted his focus to

and eventually won a bronze medal at the

in 1978 in the heavyweight class. He also competed at the

in Moscow coming tenth. In 1979 he competed in the first ever

, won by

, and came third in that event in 1982.

Life outside sport

Drzewiecki became a teacher. He was a subject of an unfair dismissal in 2007 the scale of which was such that it was reported on nationally by the BBC and other media. Having sent and then escorted a classroom bully to the head teacher of his primary school, the pupil alleged that he had used excessive force. Drzewiecki was ordered home from St Mary's Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent immediately. A police investigation was dropped, but Drzewiecki was sacked six months later in June 2007, following a disciplinary hearing. A subsequent employment tribunal, after five day days of hearings, ruled that Drzewiecki's dismissal had been "thoroughly unfair". Drzewiecki won compensation, but later said the incident made it "extremely difficult for him to work again as a primary teacher."BBC News, Tuesday, 3 March 2009 ''Pupil's slur killed my career''
/ref>

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drzewiecki, Andy 1947 births Living people Weightlifters at the 1980 Summer Olympics English strength athletes English male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain English people of Polish descent Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Weightlifters at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in weightlifting