Otylia Jedrzejczak
Encyclopedia
Otylia Jędrzejczak (born 13 December 1983) is a Polish swimmer
. She is the Olympic champion from Athens 2004
in the 200 metre butterfly
. She finished 4th in this event in the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing. She also swam in a third Olympiad, at the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney. In Athens 2004 she also silvered in 400 m freestyle
and 100 m butterfly
. Three times she broke the world record in the women's 200 m butterfly
(once in the 25-metre pool).
Jędrzejczak was born in Ruda Śląska
, Silesian Voivodship, Poland. She started swimming at the age of six as a measure to correct a slight curvature of the spine. At first she hated the sport. Her attitude towards it changed after she had won her first prize in a competition in Germany at the age of eight. Jędrzejczak took up swimming seriously in high school. Led by coach Maria Jakóbik, she won her first titles in the Junior European Championships in 1999. Medals in the Senior European Championships in 1999 and 2000 opened the way to her first Olympic appearance.
Jędrzejczak studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w Warszawie). Her coach is Paweł Słomiński. She stands 187 cm (6 ft 1½ in) tall and wears a size 47 (EU)/14 (US) shoe.
For her sport achievements, she received:
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
(5th Class) in 2004.
, who led the race for over 150 metres.
After the race Jędrzejczak revealed, that during the pre-Olympic trials in Athens in June she had declared that if she won a gold medal in the Olympics, she would auction it off and hand the proceeds to a charity helping children suffering from leukemia
.
The results of the internet auction were announced on 19 December 2004 with Victoria Cymes, a Polish food company, turning out to be the highest bidder with 257,550 zlotys (about 82,437 USD). The money was handed over to the Oncology and Haematology Clinic of Wrocław's Children's Hospital.
She was tried for an accident resulting in passenger's death. The prosecutors initially proposed Jędrzejczak an agreement which would lead to a sentence of 2 years imprisonment in suspension. Jędrzejczak refused the agreement and strongly pressed for an acquittal
, stating that she was already punished enough by her brother's death. Her trial began in February 2007 before the District Court in Płońsk, close to the place of the accident. She was convicted and sentenced to 9 months of probation
during which she had to do 30 hours of community service
a month. She also lost her driving licence for 1 year. Both the prosecution and Jędrzejczak appealed to the Regional Court in Płock, which upheld the rulling.
The accident, the trial and their aftermath started taking their toll. Her attitude during the trial resulted in alienation of many of her fans and decline of her popularity. In 2006, she returned to competitive swimming and competed in European Championships in Budapest, finishing first in 200 m freestyle
and 200 m butterfly as well as second in 4×200 m relay
. In 2007, she managed to set new world record
in 200 m butterfly in Debrecen, but later, in Melbourne, she finished third in her main competition, 200 m butterfly, and in Eindhoven in 2008, she failed to qualify for the final race in both 100 m and 200 m butterfly.
Although both Jędrzejczak and her trainer Paweł Słomiński stated that Eindhoven results were "just an accident", 2008 Summer Olympics
proved otherwise. Jędrzejczak, who won three Olympic medals four years earlier, in Beijing managed only to reach 9th place in 200 m freestyle and a disastrous 17th place in 100 m butterfly. She hoped for a medal in her favourite 200 m butterfly, but she failed, finishing 4th.
After returning from Beijing, Jędrzejczak stated in an interview that she probably would quit the career as a professional swimmer.
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
. She is the Olympic champion from Athens 2004
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in the 200 metre butterfly
Butterfly stroke
The butterfly is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick"...
. She finished 4th in this event in the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing. She also swam in a third Olympiad, at the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney. In Athens 2004 she also silvered in 400 m freestyle
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 400 metre freestyle
These are the results of the Women's 400 metre freestyle, one of sixteen events for female competitors in Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.The existing records at the start of the event were:-Heat 1:# Paola Duguet, -- 4:20.69...
and 100 m butterfly
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre butterfly
These are the results of the Women's 100 metre butterfly, one of sixteen events for female competitors in Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.-Records:-Heat 1:# Kateryna Zubkova, Ukraine 1:02.22# Wan Jung Cheng, Chinese Taipei 1:02.94...
. Three times she broke the world record in the women's 200 m butterfly
World record progression 200 metres butterfly
The first world record in the men's 200 metres butterfly in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1959. The women's official acknowledged top time came one year earlier...
(once in the 25-metre pool).
Jędrzejczak was born in Ruda Śląska
Ruda Slaska
Ruda Śląska is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is a district in the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union, a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river ....
, Silesian Voivodship, Poland. She started swimming at the age of six as a measure to correct a slight curvature of the spine. At first she hated the sport. Her attitude towards it changed after she had won her first prize in a competition in Germany at the age of eight. Jędrzejczak took up swimming seriously in high school. Led by coach Maria Jakóbik, she won her first titles in the Junior European Championships in 1999. Medals in the Senior European Championships in 1999 and 2000 opened the way to her first Olympic appearance.
Jędrzejczak studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w Warszawie). Her coach is Paweł Słomiński. She stands 187 cm (6 ft 1½ in) tall and wears a size 47 (EU)/14 (US) shoe.
For her sport achievements, she received:
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta is one of Poland's highest Orders. The Order can be conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, defense of the country, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries...
(5th Class) in 2004.
Career heights
- In 1999 she won the 100 m and 200 m butterfly titles during the Junior European Championships in Moscow and a bronze medal in the 200 m butterfly event in the Senior European Championships in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. - In 2000 she won gold in the 200 m butterfly and silver in the 100 m butterfly in the European Championships in HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. - In the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
she placed 5th in the 200 m butterfly. - In 2001 she placed second in the 100 m butterfly event in the World Championships in FukuokaFukuoka, Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
. - On 4 August 2002 she established a new world record in the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:05.78 during the European Championships in Berlin. Except the 200 m title, she won a silver medal in the 100 m butterfly event.
- During the 2003 World Championships in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
she placed first in the 200 m butterfly and second in the 100 m butterfly. - In the 2004 European Championships in MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
she defended her 200 m butterfly title and placed third in the 100 m butterfly event. - During the 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
she won three medals: silver in the 400 m freestyleFreestyle swimmingFreestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
and 100 m butterfly, and gold in the 200 m butterfly. This equals her in the number of medals earned during single Olympic games with the legendary Polish athlete Irena SzewińskaIrena SzewinskaIrena Szewińska is a retired Polish Jewish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events....
. - After winning bronze in the 100 m butterfly during the 2005 World Championships in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Jędrzejczak managed to defend her title in the 200 m butterfly event on 29 July 2005. In the final she improved her own world record with a time of 2:05.61 to beat Australian Jessicah SchipperJessicah SchipperJessicah Lee Schipper OAM is an Australian swimmer. She trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood up until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Schipper now trains under the guidance of Stephan Widmer with the Commercial Swimming Club...
by only 0.04 seconds. After the race it was disputed that Jędrzejczak touched the finishing wall with only one hand (with video replays confirming this), which according to International Swimming FederationInternational Swimming FederationFédération Internationale de Natation is the International Federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee for administering international competition in the aquatic sports...
rules would be grounds for an automatic disqualification. But since this was not noticed by the judges and no complaints were filed within 30 minutes of the race, her result has been approved. - In the summer of 2005 she won three gold medals at the Summer UniversiadeSwimming at the 2005 Summer UniversiadeThe swimming competition during the 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIV Summer Universiade, took place in the Manisa Özel Ýdare Swimming Complex in Izmir, Turkey from August 12 till August 17, 2005. The swimming competition is one of the fourteen sports of the 23rd Universiade...
in İzmirIzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
. - In the 2006 European Championships in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
she again defended her 200 m butterfly title and won 200 m freestyle. With her teammates, she took the silver medal in 4×200 m freestyle relay. - On 13 December 2007, on her 24th birthday, Otylia broke the world record for the 200 metre women's butterfly with a time of 2:03.53.
Olympic Games gold medal auction
Jędrzejczak owes her Olympic gold medal success to a brilliant finish in the last quarter of the 200 metre distance, which allowed her to overtake Australian Petria ThomasPetria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby....
, who led the race for over 150 metres.
After the race Jędrzejczak revealed, that during the pre-Olympic trials in Athens in June she had declared that if she won a gold medal in the Olympics, she would auction it off and hand the proceeds to a charity helping children suffering from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
.
The results of the internet auction were announced on 19 December 2004 with Victoria Cymes, a Polish food company, turning out to be the highest bidder with 257,550 zlotys (about 82,437 USD). The money was handed over to the Oncology and Haematology Clinic of Wrocław's Children's Hospital.
Decline
On 1 October 2005, she was injured in a car accident, which killed her 19-year-old brother, Szymon. She was driving, attempting to pass several long-haul trucks at excessive speed during bad weather conditions and crashed into a tree.She was tried for an accident resulting in passenger's death. The prosecutors initially proposed Jędrzejczak an agreement which would lead to a sentence of 2 years imprisonment in suspension. Jędrzejczak refused the agreement and strongly pressed for an acquittal
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
, stating that she was already punished enough by her brother's death. Her trial began in February 2007 before the District Court in Płońsk, close to the place of the accident. She was convicted and sentenced to 9 months of probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
during which she had to do 30 hours of community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
a month. She also lost her driving licence for 1 year. Both the prosecution and Jędrzejczak appealed to the Regional Court in Płock, which upheld the rulling.
The accident, the trial and their aftermath started taking their toll. Her attitude during the trial resulted in alienation of many of her fans and decline of her popularity. In 2006, she returned to competitive swimming and competed in European Championships in Budapest, finishing first in 200 m freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
and 200 m butterfly as well as second in 4×200 m relay
Relay
A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...
. In 2007, she managed to set new world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
in 200 m butterfly in Debrecen, but later, in Melbourne, she finished third in her main competition, 200 m butterfly, and in Eindhoven in 2008, she failed to qualify for the final race in both 100 m and 200 m butterfly.
Although both Jędrzejczak and her trainer Paweł Słomiński stated that Eindhoven results were "just an accident", 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
proved otherwise. Jędrzejczak, who won three Olympic medals four years earlier, in Beijing managed only to reach 9th place in 200 m freestyle and a disastrous 17th place in 100 m butterfly. She hoped for a medal in her favourite 200 m butterfly, but she failed, finishing 4th.
After returning from Beijing, Jędrzejczak stated in an interview that she probably would quit the career as a professional swimmer.
World championship results
- 2001 World Aquatics Championships2001 World Aquatics ChampionshipsrightThe 2001 World Aquatics Championships or the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan between 16 July and 29 July 2001....
: silver medal in the 100 m butterfly - 2003 World Aquatics Championships2003 World Aquatics ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....
: silver medal in the 100 m butterfly - 2003 World Aquatics Championships2003 World Aquatics ChampionshipsBarcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....
: gold medal in the 200 m butterfly - 2005 World Aquatics Championships2005 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 2005 World Aquatics Championships or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005...
: bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly - 2005 World Aquatics Championships2005 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 2005 World Aquatics Championships or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005...
: gold medal in the 200 m butterfly - 2007 World Aquatics Championships2007 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...
: silver medal in the 400 m freestyle - 2007 World Aquatics Championships2007 World Aquatics ChampionshipsThe 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...
: bronze medal in the 200 m butterfly
External links
- Swim Rankings profile
- Biography at FINA web page