Bogdan Kowalczyk (born 12 August 1946) is a former

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player who competed in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and then became a handball

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

; he coached the

Iceland men's national handball team ) , Association = Icelandic Handball Association(''Handknattleikssamband Íslands'') , Coach = Guðmundur Guðmundsson , Assistant coach = Ágúst Þór JóhannssonGunnar Magnússon , Captain = Aron ...

to victory in the 1989 World Men's Handball Championship of B teams and was later coach of the Polish national team. He is widely considered to be a major influence on the development of handball in Iceland.

Playing career

Kowalczyk was born in Warsaw. He began his career as a handball player with Warszawianka in 1961, where he was on the team that won the Polish Junior Championships in 1964. From 1965 to 1968 he played for KS Warszawianka and from 1968 to 1978 for Śląsk Wrocław in Wrocław, where he was on the teams that won the second division of the Polish Handball League in 1969–1971 and won the

Polish Superliga The Polish Superliga, also known as the PGNiG Superliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's handball league in Poland. The current champion is Vive Kielce, the most titled Polish handball club, maintaining its position at the top of the tab ...

championship every year from 1972 to 1978. He played 43 times for the Polish national team, first appearing in an international friendly game on 6 December 1964 and making his last appearance against Norway on 9 September 1972. In 1972 he was part of the Polish team that finished tenth at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He played two matches.

Coaching career

In 1970 Kowalczyk graduated from the University of Wrocław with a master's degree in physical education. From 1973 to 1978 he was a coach as well as a player at Śląsk Wrocław; the team continued to top the Superliga and won the Polish handball cup in 1976. In 1978 they lost in the final of the European Cup. In 1978 he went to Iceland, where he coached the Víkingur team for 12 years, leading them to national league championships in 1980–1983. In 1983 he was appointed coach of the

. Under him they came 6th in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, 8th at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, and 6th at the 1986 World Championships, and won the 1989 World Men's Handball Championship of B teams. In 1990 he returned to Poland, where he continued to coach until 2014. From 1992 to 1994 he coached the

Poland men's national handball team The Poland men's national handball team is controlled by the Polish Handball Association (''Związek Piłki Ręcznej w Polsce''), and represents Poland in international matches. Honours Competitive record Olympic Games World Champio ...

. At the club level, he coached at Warszawianka (1997–2001),

Wisła Płock Wisła Płock Spółka Akcyjna (''Wisła Płock S.A.''), commonly referred to as Wisła Płock (), is a Polish professional football club, based in Płock, Masovian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national foot ...

(2003–2004, 2008), and

KS Azoty-Puławy KS Azoty-Puławy is a men's handball club from Puławy, Poland, that plays in the Polish Superliga. Team Current squad :''Squad for the 2023–24 season'' ;Goalkeepers * 12 Mateusz Zembrzycki * 16 Wojciech Borucki * Paweł Ciupa * Zur ...

(2005, 2007, 2010–2011).

Honours

* 1989: Knight's Cross of the Order of the Falcon, Iceland

References

1946 births Living people Polish male handball players Olympic handball players of Poland Handball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Warsaw Polish handball coaches Handball coaches of international teams {{Poland-handball-bio-stub