Like father, like son or daughter. The most famous Polish sports families
Family is behind the success of most Polish athletes. Support, especially at the beginning of your career, is very important. Here we will present the profiles of the families of three of the most outstanding Polish athletes.
To achieve success in sports you need motivation, self-discipline and support from your loved ones. It all starts with parents and if they help develop their passions, they significantly help their children achieve success.
The sports Lewandowski family
In sport at the highest level, we have many famous Polish sports families. Let's start with the most popular sport in the world – football. Our best player is Robert Lewandowski, son of Iwona née Dembek and Krzysztof.
The captain of the Polish national team comes from a family with sporting traditions, because his father practiced judo and played football for the third league team Hutnik Warszawa. His mother, in turn, was a volleyball player from AZS Warszawa and an athlete. After the death of Krzysztof Lewandowski, she began to serve as vice-president of the Partyzant club and was a physical education teacher. Robert Lewandowski has a sister three years older – Milena, who was a volleyball player and was even in the junior national team.
Olympians in the Świątek house
The second most popular Polish player is Iga Świątek, who leads the WTA ranking. The tennis player is preparing for the Grand Slam at Roland Garros and is certainly one of the favorites for her fourth triumph in Paris. The 22-year-old from Raszyn has already won 21 WTA tournaments.
She is the daughter of Tomasz and Dorota Świątek. Iga's father was a rower in the past. In 1987, he won the gold medal at the Universiade in the double sculls. Additionally, he took part in the world championships in Copenhagen (1987), Bled (1989), and Barrington (1990). Moreover, he took part in the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. The Poles took 7th place.
It can be said that Iga Świątek followed in her father's footsteps because she took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and is preparing for the next ones, held this year in Paris. In turn, Iga Świątek's mother is an orthodontist and the tennis player's three-year-older sister, Agata, who is a dentist, followed in her footsteps.
Older and younger Kurek in one team
Finally, we will present the family of Bartosz Kurek, our outstanding volleyball player. The 35-year-old has won gold and silver at the World Championships, 2x gold and bronze at the European Championships and all shades of medals for the Nations League. The Polish attacker was committed to volleyball from an early age. His father, Adam, was a volleyball player and also a Polish representative.
– My son had no choice but to follow in my footsteps. He appeared on the volleyball court as soon as he learned to walk and held up a balloon – Adam Kurek once said in an interview for “Super Express”.
As if that wasn't enough, Bartosz's mother, Iwona, also played volleyball. Young Kurek started his volleyball adventure in Nysa. He played for the team for the first time in 2004, at the age of 16. “Kuraś” played alongside his father, who was the team captain.
