Artur Wojdat (born 20 May 1968 in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

) is a former international and collegiate

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, who won the bronze medal in the men's 400 meter freestyle at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. He also competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

. He came to the 1988 Seoul Olympics as the world record holder in the 400 meter freestyle event. In the final he beat his world record time, but managed to only finish third behind

Uwe Dassler Uwe Daßler (born 11 February 1967), commonly spelled Uwe Dassler in English, is a former middle- and long-distance swimmer from Germany, who represented East Germany (GDR) in international competition. He was European champion in the 400-metre ...

and

Duncan Armstrong Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong (born 7 April 1968) is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Armstrong is best remembered for winning a gold and silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Ear ...

. While he missed the medal podium in the 200 metre freestyle to an American record swim by

Matt Biondi Matthew Nicholas Biondi (born October 8, 1965) is an American former competitive swimmer and water polo player. As a swimmer, he is an eleven-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder in five events. Biondi competed in the Summer Oly ...

, his third-place finish made him the first Polish athlete to receive a medal in a men's swimming event. After a successful collegiate swimming career at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, Wojdat qualified for the

1992 Summer Olympic Games The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

, where he would compete in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle. In both events, he narrowly missed medaling, finishing in fourth place. Wojdat retired from swimming shortly after in 1992.

College career

Following his success in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Wojdat attended the University of Iowa, where he competed for the

Iowa Hawkeyes swimming and diving The Iowa Hawkeyes swimming and diving team represents the University of Iowa in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA men's and women's swimming (sport), swimming and Diving (sport), diving. The teams compete at Campus Recreation and ...

program from 1988 to 1992. Under head coach Glenn Patton, he helped the Hawkeyes finish runner-up to the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

title and a top-8 finish at the 1989 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. This was the highest finish by a Hawkeye team since the 1959 NCAA swimming and diving championships, under then-head coach Robert Allen. En-route to the top-8 finish at the 1989 NCAAs, Wojdat broke the NCAA record in the 500-yard freestyle, coming into the wall at 4:12.24. He narrowly missed repeating this feat in the 200-yard freestyle during the same NCAAs, when he finished finals with a time of 1:33.82; well within striking distance of the record time of 1:33.03 set by Matt Biondi of the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

in 1987. Wojdat was awarded for his efforts, earning the pool record by .03 seconds. Throughout his remaining three years on the team, the Hawkeyes remained a dominant force in Big 10 swimming, which included an undefeated season in 1991 and three more top-15 finishes at the 1990, 1991, and 1992 editions of the

NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships (formerly the NCAA University Division swimming and diving championships) are contested at an annual swim meet hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the ind ...

. Over his four years competing for Iowa, Wojdat compiled numerous accolades, including nine individual NCAA titles split between the 200, 500, and 1650-yard freestyle; as well as being runner-up twice in the 200 freestyle in the 1990 and 1992 editions. As of 2023, Wojdat's nine individual NCAA titles rank him tied for the third-most by an NCAA collegiate swimmer ever. Additionally, his nine NCAA titles are the most by any individual Hawkeye in the entire history of their athletic programs.

Accolades and recognition

For his efforts in strengthening the Hawkeye swim program during his four years, Wojdat was inducted into the

University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame The University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in the Roy G. Karro Building in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. The museum pays tribute to the most legendary and influential Iowa Hawkeye sports heroes. Opened in October 2 ...

in the 2004 class. His dominant run in the mid to long-distance freestyle events at the NCAA level led him to being named by the CSCAA's (College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America) list of the greatest men's swimmers and divers ever at the college level in 2021.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wojdat, Artur 1968 births Living people Polish male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for Poland Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Poland Sportspeople from Olsztyn World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Iowa Hawkeyes men's swimmers Polish expatriate swimmers in the United States University of Iowa alumni Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for Poland FISU World University Games silver medalists for Poland Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade 20th-century Polish sportsmen

College career

Accolades and recognition

See also

References