Top athletes of AZS Poznań, 1936. From the left: Paweł Szmidt, Ryszard Jędrzejewski, Władysław Klemczak, N.N., Karol Hoffmann, Mieczysław Balcer, Marian Hoffmann, Jan Tęsiorowski, Henryk Gniot, N.N., Seweryn Ługowski.
tween 1924 and 1931, she won twenty-seven gold medals for AZS Warszawa. In discus throw, her crown discipline, she never sustained a defeat. In the interwar period, it was AZS Warszawa that dominated domestic rivalry winning 233 medals in men’s, and 116 in women’s disciplines. The most famous athletes were Stefan Kostrzewa, Józef Jaworski, Stefan Ołdak, Zygmunt Weiss, or the high jumper Jerzy Pływaczyk. In the women’s category, besides Halina Konopacka, these were also Halina Wojnarowska, Jolanta Manteuffel, or Felicja Chabińska, who ranked among the best in the country. The second most important centre was Poznań. Of the whole group of illustrious sportsmen and women, suffice it to mention Karol Hoffman, Poland’s nine-time long jump, high jump and triple jump champion, and the multi-talented Maria Lange. In fencing, these were athletes of AZS Kraków coached by the Hungarian Bela Szombathely who held the dominant position in the country in the 1920s. In time, fencers of AZS Warszawa and AZS Poznań entered the race for domestic supremacy. Swimming and water polo were dominated by athletes of AZS Warszawa, of whom the Olympian Kazimierz Bocheński reached world-class results (in 1930, he swam 100 m free style
AZS Poznań fencing team, 1928. Standing from the left: N.N., Łucjan Lange, Stanisław Zagacki (fencing master), Maksymilian Kreutzinger, Emanuel Szczygieł.
AZS Kraków fencing team, 1922. From the left: Bolesław Macudziński, Konrad Winkler, Wanda Dubieńska, Adam Papée, Alfred Adler, Jerzy Zabielski.
History of the Akademicki Związek Sportowy (AZS)
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