Leszek Błażyński (5 March 1949 – 6 August 1992) was a Polish boxer who twice won the bronze medal in the men's

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

(– 51 kg) division at the

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. He first did so in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when

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hosted the Games. Four years later in

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, he once again captured the bronze after a loss in the semifinals against eventual winner Leo Randolph of the

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. He won the silver medal in the 1971 European Amateur Boxing Championships and the gold medal in the 1977 European Amateur Boxing Championships. Later in his career, he became a boxing coach.

Personal life

Błażyński was born in

Ełk Ełk is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of Ełk County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a glacier, and is surrounded by extensiv ...

, Warmińsko-Mazurskie. His father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

when Błażyński was 12 years old. The father's death caused financial hardship for the surviving family, which prompted Błażyński, whose boxing talent was already showing, to start fighting to earn food. He eventually married and had two children, one of whom became a

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

. He struggled with alcohol and became depressed after his wife died of injuries from a serious fall. He died in 1992 in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

, Śląskie, at the age of 43. The cause of death was

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. He was buried at the Communal Cemetery in

Olympic results

1972 * Round of 64: bye * Round of 32: Defeated Chander Narayanan (India) 3-2 * Round of 16: Defeated Arturo Delgado (Mexico) 5-0 * Quarterfinal: Defeated You Man-Chong (South Korea) 3-2 in a

split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split de ...

* Semifinal: Lost to Georgi Kostadinov (Bulgaria) 0-5 (was awarded bronze medal) 1976 * Round of 32: Defeated Antônio Toledo Filho (Brazil) KO 2 * Round of 16: Defeated Fazlija Sacirović (Yugoslavia) 3-2 * Quarterfinal: Defeated Alfredo Pérez (Venezuela) 3-2 * Semifinal: Lost to Leo Randolph (United States) 1-4 (was awarded bronze medal)

References

External links

* *
Biography of Leszek Błażyński
1949 births 1992 deaths Flyweight boxers Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Poland Olympic bronze medalists for Poland Olympic medalists in boxing Sportspeople from Ełk Martial artists from Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Suicides in Poland Polish male boxers Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Burials in Katowice 1992 suicides 20th-century Polish sportsmen {{Poland-Olympic-medalist-stub