Stan really is the man! Sprightly 110-year-old honoured for astonishing sporting achievements
The oldest man in Poland – and European sprint gold medalist in his age category – has been awarded for his astonishing sporting achievements.
Supercentenarian Stanisław Kowalski who turned 110 years old in April, was honoured with the title of Ambassador of Best Practices in Sport during an announcement of the top 50 Most Influential People in Polish Sport in 2020.
Sprightly Stan from Świdnica who was born on 14 April 1910 in the village of Rogówek in south-central Poland, began athletics at the age of 104.
Sprightly Stan from Świdnica who was born on 14 April 1910 in the village of Rogówek in south-central Poland, began athletics at the age of 104.
The same year he won a gold medal in the European Masters Indoor Athletics Championships – an event for athletes aged 35 and over –in Toruń, where he ran 60 metres in 20 seconds.
The following year, he became world champion in his age category, running 100 metres in just 34 seconds. (The world 100 metre record for centenarians, 29.83 seconds, is held by Hidekichi Miyazaki of Japan.)
In 2014, Stan ran a distance of 100m in Wroclaw in 32.79 seconds, thus breaking the European record in the 100-year-olds category.
Before he took up sports, which included discus throwing and shot put, Stan worked on a railway and a farm and cycled 12km to work every day.
Now retired from sports, the 110-year-old says he is still trying to remain active but admits that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is ‘a bit of an obstacle.’
The Most Influential People in Polish Sport award is an annual attempt to evaluate the condition of the Polish sports market and the most important people who create it: athletes, coaches, sports activists, entrepreneurs, sponsors and sports journalists.
Now retired from sports, the 110-year-old says he is still trying to remain active but admits that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is ‘a bit of an obstacle.’
The list is prepared by ‘Forbes’ magazine and Pentagon Research and this year also included tennis ace Iga Świątek and footballing legend Robert Lewandowski.
