Tomasz Majewski

Tomasz Majewski
	Majewski in 2013
Personal information
Nickname	The Silent Giant
Nationality	Polish
Born	30 August 1981 (age 42); Nasielsk, Poland
Education	Political science
Alma mater	Stefan Wyszyński University
Height	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
Weight	{142 kg
Website	tomasz-majewski.pl
Sport
Country	Poland
Sport	Track and field
Event	Shot put
Club	AZS AWF Warszawa
Turned pro	1999-
Coached by	Henryk Olszewski
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	Gold in 2008 Gold in 2012
World finals	Silver in 2009
Personal best(s)	21.95 in outdoor (NR); 21.72 in indoor (NR)
Medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing Poland
Olympic Games
World Championships
World Indoor Championships
European Championships
European Indoor Championships
European Team Championships
European Cup Winter Throwing
Summer Universiade
Jeux de la Francophonie

Tomasz Majewski (born 30 August 1981) is a Polish shot putter and a double Olympic gold medalist. He is the third shot putter to successfully defend the Olympic title, first European to do so, and the first since Parry O'Brien in 1956.

Career

Majewski stands at 204 cm (6' 81⁄2") tall and weighs 140 kg (300 lb).

During the Olympic final in Beijing on 15 August 2008, he threw 21.51 meters for the gold medal, Poland's first Olympic medal in shot put since 1972 when the late Władysław Komar took the gold.^[1] Majewski was also the first Pole to win gold at the 2008 Olympics.

On 25 July 2009 in Barcelona he threw a personal best of 21.64 m and few days later in DN Galan in Stockholm, Sweden he improved upon this with a throw of 21.95 m, a new Polish record.^[2]

At the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships he threw a personal best and Polish indoor record of 21.20 m. However, the level of competition was so high that this was only enough for fifth place behind a Canadian record-breaking Dylan Armstrong. It was the first time in championships history that five men had gone beyond the 21 m mark.^[3]

In the outdoor season, Majewski competed at the 2010 European Athletics Championships and won the shot put silver medal. His 21-metre throw was beaten by a single centimetre as Andrei Mikhnevich took the title. He had shoulder surgery in the latter half of the year. Focusing on the 2011 season, he said that the strong form of his opponents was more of an inspiration than an obstacle: "Christian Cantwell and Reese Hoffa [both] went over 22 metres last year, the good performances of my rivals doesn't make me angry or worried, instead it acts as the best sort of motivation to get up to their level".^[4]

At the 2011 European Team Championships he was the silver medallist behind David Storl and while his young German rival went on to win at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Majewski managed only ninth place with a best throw of 20.18 m. At the start of 2012 he broke his own Polish indoor record at the BW-Bank Meeting in Karlsruhe with a winning mark of 21.27 m.^[5] In London 2012 he won the gold medal with a mark of 21.89 m and he became the first male shot-put thrower to defend his Olympic title since Parry O'Brien achieved that in Melbourne 1956.

Hobbies

His hobbies include basketball and playing video games.^[6]

National honours

For his sport achievements, he received:
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class) in 2008.^[7]
Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (4th Class) in 2009.^[8]

Personal bests

Outdoor – 21.95 m (2009)
Indoor – 21.72 m (2012)

His best attempt was in Sweden DN Galan (21.65 m, 21.95 m, 21.44 m, x, x, 21.83 m).

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing Poland
2003	European U23 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	4th	19.92 m
2003	Universiade	Daegu, South Korea	5th	19.90 m
2004	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	4th	20.83 m
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	18th (q)	19.55 m
2005	European Indoor Championships	Madrid, Spain	10th (q)	19.57 m
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	7th	20.23 m
	Universiade	İzmir, Turkey	1st	20.60 m
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	6th	20.07 m
	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	6th	19.85 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	7th	20.13 m
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	4th	20.87 m
2008	World Indoor Championships	Valencia, Spain	3rd	20.93 m
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	21.51 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	20.88 m
2009	European Indoor Championships	Turin, Italy	1st	21.02 m
	European Team Championships	Leiria, Portugal	1st	20.81 m
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	2nd	21.91 m
	World Athletics Final	Thessaloniki, Greece	2nd	21.21 m
2010	World Indoor Championships	Doha, Qatar	4th	21.20 m (iNR)
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	1st^[9]	21.00 m
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	8th	20.18 m
2012	World Indoor Championships	Istanbul, Turkey	3rd	21.72 m (iNR)
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	1st	21.89 m
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	6th	20.98 m
2013	Jeux de la Francophonie	Nice, France	1st	20.18 m
2014	World Indoor Championships	Sopot, Poland	4th	21.04 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	3rd	20.83 m
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	6th	20.82 m
2016	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	6th	20.72 m

References

^ "A Polish 'pirate' steals Shot Put booty in Beijing". IAAF. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ Nesi, Lorenzo (30 July 2009). "Majewski launches 21.95m Shot Put national record and world lead in Stockholm – IAAF World Athletics Tour". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ Landells, Steve (12 March 2010). "EVENT REPORT – MEN's Shot Put Final". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ "Majewski ready to rumble after shoulder surgery". European Athletics. 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
^ Gordon, Ed (13 February 2012). "Three world leads as middle distances steal the spotlight in Karlsruhe". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ "Tomasz Majewski". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
^ "Prezydent RP odznaczył olimpijczyków". 13 October 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ "Lista odznaczonych medalistów". President of Poland. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
^ (13 June 2013), at Championskips was 2nd, but Andriei Michniewicz was stripped of his gold medal in 2013, after failure of anti-drug test in the 2005, according to prosecution Retrieved 26 April 2018.

External links

Tomasz Majewski at World Athletics
Tomasz Majewski at European Athletics
Tomasz Majewski at the Polski Związek Lekkiej Atletyki (in Polish)
Tomasz Majewski at Olympedia
Tomasz Majewski at Olympics.com
Tomasz Majewski at the Polski Komitet Olimpijski (archive) (in Polish)
Poland's Majewski ready to bask in the Barcelona Sun
Tomasz Majewski gold medal at London 2012 Olympics, on official Olympic channel

[1] "A Polish 'pirate' steals Shot Put booty in Beijing". IAAF. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[2] Nesi, Lorenzo (30 July 2009). "Majewski launches 21.95m Shot Put national record and world lead in Stockholm – IAAF World Athletics Tour". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[3] Landells, Steve (12 March 2010). "EVENT REPORT – MEN's Shot Put Final". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[4] "Majewski ready to rumble after shoulder surgery". European Athletics. 11 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.

[5] Gordon, Ed (13 February 2012). "Three world leads as middle distances steal the spotlight in Karlsruhe". IAAF. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[6] "Tomasz Majewski". Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.

[7] "Prezydent RP odznaczył olimpijczyków". 13 October 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[8] "Lista odznaczonych medalistów". President of Poland. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

[9] (13 June 2013), at Championskips was 2nd, but Andriei Michniewicz was stripped of his gold medal in 2013, after failure of anti-drug test in the 2005, according to prosecution Retrieved 26 April 2018.

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