The Polish Sports Personality of the Year (Polish: Plebiscyt Przeglądu Sportowego na najlepszego polskiego sportowca roku) is chosen annually since 1926 by the readers of the newspaper Przegląd Sportowy, which makes it the second oldest such contest in the world. The winner is the sportsperson, judged by a public vote, to have achieved the most in the previous year.
The first winner of the award was track and field athlete Wacław Kuchar. Between 1939 and 1947, the contest was not held due to the Second World War. The most successful athletes in the contest's history are footballer Robert Lewandowski and swimmer Otylia Jędrzejczak with three titles each; track and field athletes Irena Szewińska and Stanisława Walasiewicz, as well as ski jumper Adam Małysz with four titles each; while cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk is the current leader who holds five titles. Fencer Jerzy Pawłowski holds the record number of eleven appearances among the top 10 athletes. As of 2024, the award has been given to 59 male and 30 female athletes.
Apart from the main award, winners are announced in additional categories such as Super Champion Lifetime Achievement Award, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Sport Without Barriers Award for disabled athletes and Sporting Event of the Year.
Polish Sports Personality of the Year
POLISH SPORTSPERSONALITY OF THE YEARYEARATHLETESPORT1926Wacław Kuchar athletics football ice hockey1927Halina Konopacka athletics1928Halina Konopacka athletics1929Stanisław Petkiewicz athletics1930Stanisława Walasiewicz athletics1931Janusz Kusociński athletics1932Stanisława Walasiewicz athletics1933Stanisława Walasiewicz athletics1934Stanisława Walasiewicz athletics1935Roger Verey rowing1936Jadwiga Jędrzejowska tennis1937Jadwiga Jędrzejowska tennis1938Stanisław Marusarz ski jumping1939–1947not awarded due to World War II1948Aleksy Antkiewicz boxing1949Zdobysław Stawczyk athletics1950Helena Rakoczy gymnastics1951Zygmunt Chychła boxing1952Zygmunt Chychła boxing1953Leszek Drogosz boxing1954Janusz Sidło athletics1955Janusz Sidło athletics1956Elżbieta Krzesińska athletics1957Jerzy Pawłowski fencing1958Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak athletics1959Edmund Piątkowski athletics1960Jozef Schmidt athletics1961Ireneusz Paliński weightlifting1962Teresa Ciepły athletics1963Ryszard Parulski fencing1964Jozef Schmidt athletics1965Irena Kirszenstein athletics1966Irena Kirszenstein athletics1967Sobiesław Zasada auto racing1968Jerzy Pawłowski fencing1969Waldemar Baszanowski weightlifting1970Teresa Sukniewicz athletics1971Ryszard Szurkowski road cycling1972Witold Woyda fencing1973Ryszard Szurkowski road cycling1974Irena Szewińska athletics1975Zygmunt Smalcerz weightlifting1976Irena Szewińska athletics1977Janusz Pyciak-Peciak modern pentathlon1978Józef Łuszczek cross-country skiing1979Jan Jankiewicz road cycling1980Władysław Kozakiewicz athletics1981Janusz Pyciak-Peciak modern pentathlon1982Zbigniew Boniek football (soccer)1983Zdzisław Hoffmann athletics1984Andrzej Grubba table tennis1985Lech Piasecki road cycling1986Andrzej Malina wrestling1987Marek Łbik and Marek Dopierała canoeing1988Waldemar Legień judo1989Joachim Halupczok road cycling1990Wanda Panfil athletics1991Wanda Panfil athletics1992Waldemar Legień judo1993Rafał Kubacki judo1994Andrzej Wroński wrestling1995Paweł Nastula judo1996Renata Mauer shooting1997Paweł Nastula judo1998Robert Korzeniowski athletics1999Tomasz Gollob motorcycle speedway2000Robert Korzeniowski athletics2001Adam Małysz ski jumping2002Adam Małysz ski jumping2003Adam Małysz ski jumping2004Otylia Jędrzejczak swimming2005Otylia Jędrzejczak swimming2006Otylia Jędrzejczak swimming2007Adam Małysz ski jumping2008Robert Kubica Formula One2009Justyna Kowalczyk cross-country skiing2010Justyna Kowalczyk cross-country skiing2011Justyna Kowalczyk cross-country skiing2012Justyna Kowalczyk cross-country skiing2013Justyna Kowalczyk cross-country skiing2014Kamil Stoch ski jumping2015Robert Lewandowski football (soccer)2016Anita Włodarczyk athletics2017Kamil Stoch ski jumping2018Bartosz Kurek volleyball2019Bartosz Zmarzlik motorcycle speedway2020Robert Lewandowski football (soccer)2021Robert Lewandowski football (soccer)2022Iga Świątek tennis2023Iga Świątek tennis2024Aleksandra Mirosław climbing2025Klaudia Zwolińska canoe slalom
Most successful sportspeople Place Name 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Combined1Justyna Kowalczyk50052Irena Szewińska44083Stanisława Walasiewicz40484Robert Lewandowski33175Adam Małysz40266Otylia Jędrzejczak32167Janusz Sidło24178Robert Korzeniowski23279Kamil Stoch221510Józef Szmidt2204
Winners by sport
Sport First place(s)Athletics Ski jumping Cross-country skiing Judo Cycling Football Boxing Fencing Tennis Swimming Weightlifting Modern pentathlon Wrestling Speedway Gymnastics Formula One Kayaking Rallying Shooting Rowing Table tennis Volleyball Climbing Canoe slalom
See also Polish Footballer of the Year Sport in Poland
References