Sylwester Bednarek ( ; born 28 April 1989) is a Polish

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

er. He won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships and gold at the 2017 European Indoor Championships.

Life and career

Bednarek was born in Łódź. He finished fourth at the 2005 World Youth Championships and the 2006 World Junior Championships, finished sixth at the 2007 European Junior Championships and won the silver medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships. He also competed at the

2009 European Indoor Championships The 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena

without reaching the final. He underwent knee surgery due to an injury in 2010 and returned to competition. He was tenth at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

but pain persisted in his knee into the 2011 season and he decided to undergo further surgery with an eye on being in his best shape for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Unfortunately, at the national championships soon before the Games, he ruptured the Achilles tendon in his other leg and only returned to competition in 2013. In 2017, he won the gold medal at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

in Belgrade. His personal best jump is 2.32 metres, achieved in August 2009 in Berlin at the World Championships. He has achieved 2.33 metres indoors, a mark set in February 2017 in Banska Bystrica. For his sport achievements, he received:
Golden Cross of Merit in 2009.Prezydent.pl

Competition record

Personal bests

*Outdoor: 2.32 m (2009) *Indoor: 2.33 m (2017)

References

1989 births Living people Polish male high jumpers Sportspeople from Łódź World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Poland Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Poland {{Poland-athletics-bio-stub