Erwina Lilia Ryś-Ferens ( Ryś; 19 January 1955 – 20 April 2022) was a Polish

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

Career

She competed in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1976 to 1988 in all distances from 500 m to 3000 m. She reached fifth place on three occasions: in 1980 (3000 m), in 1984 (1500 m) and in 1988 (3000 m). She won a silver and a bronze medal at the

World Junior Speed Skating Championships In 1971, the International Skating Union, ISU congress decided to hold a World Junior Speed Skating Championships. After two test-championships (1972 and 1973), where only a boys' competition was held in the 1972 edition, the first official cham ...

in 1974 and 1975, respectively. As a senior skater, she won bronze medals in the

World Sprint Championships The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

in 1978 and 1985. Ryś-Ferens graduated from the local high school in her native Elblag (1974) and then from the Karol Świerczewski Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw (1979). After retirement she worked as a speed skating coach. Personal bests: *500 m – 40.86 (1985) *1000 m – 1:21.44 (1988) *1500 m – 2:04.68 (1988) * 3000 m – 4:22.59 (1988) * 5000 m – 7:46.60 (1988)

Life in politics

Ryś-Ferens was an experienced politician. She unsuccessfully ran for the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, representing various parties, including the

National Party of Retirees and Pensioners National Party of Retirees and Pensioners (, KPEiR) is a minor left-wing political party in Poland. The main goal of KPEiR is protecting retired seniors, pensioners and trust-busting. The current leader (Prezes, President in English) is former Sej ...

Democratic Left Alliance – Labor Union Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...

, and

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party (, PSL) is a conservative political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although its name was changed to the pre ...

(PPP). She had success in the 2010 Polish local elections and 2011 representing PPP.

Later life and death

She died after a long illness on 20 April 2022, at age 67. Two years before her death, her family revealed she suffered from bone cancer.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rys-Ferens, Erwina 1955 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Elbląg Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw alumni Polish female speed skaters Olympic speed skaters for Poland Law and Justice politicians Polish People's Party politicians Speed skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1984 Winter Olympics Speed skaters at the 1988 Winter Olympics Speed skating coaches World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists Polish sportsperson-politicians Deaths from cancer in Poland 20th-century Polish sportswomen