Leszek Blanik

Leszek Robert Blanik[1] (born 1 March 1977 in Wodzisław Śląski) is a Polish gymnast, World and Olympic champion in vault. He was the first to perform a handspring double front vault in piked position which now has been named after him.[2]

Leszek Blanik
Personal information
Full nameLeszek Robert Blanik
Country represented Poland
Born (1977-03-01) 1 March 1977
Wodzisław Śląski, Poland
HometownGdańsk
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
ClubAZS AWFiS Gdansk
Head coach(es)Andrey Levit
Assistant coach(es)Piotr Mikolajek
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Vault
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Stuttgart Vault
Silver medal – second place 2002 Debrecen Vault
Silver medal – second place 2005 Melbourne Vault
World Cup Final
Silver medal – second place 2002 StuttgartVault
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Lausanne Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Ljubljana Vault

Olympics

Blanik picked up a bronze in vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[3]

On 18 August 2008, he won the gold medal in men's vault at the Olympics in Beijing, becoming the first Polish Olympic champion in a gymnastics event.

World championships

Blanik won a gold medal in vault at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, earning him an individual berth to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also has two World silver medals, from 2002 in Debrecen, and 2005 in Melbourne.

Awards

For his sport achievements, Blanik received:
Knight's Cross Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class) in 2008.
Golden Cross of Merit Golden Cross of Merit in 2000.

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Leszek Blanik". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04.
  2. "Leszek Blanik". International Gymnast. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  3. "2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney, Australia – Gymnastics". databaseOlympics.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-23. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
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