Witold Woyda

Witold Woyda made a promising Olympic debut in 1960, finishing fourth in the individual foil, losing the bronze to Albie Axelrod only after a barrage. He followed up on this success with a second place at the 1962 World Championships. The Polish foil team was also one of the strongest in the world in that era, and was a fixture on the international podium. Between 1961 and 1973, Woyda and Poland won a team medal at each World Championship or Olympic Games, except in 1970. However, these medals tended to be silver or bronze, usually being denied the gold by the Soviet Union. But in the final of the 1972 Olympics the Poles finally prevailed. This was already the second gold for Woyda. A few days earlier, he had won all his bouts in the final pool to claim the individual foil gold. Because of the double gold, he was elected as Polish Sports Personality of the year. A three-time national champion, he left for the United States in the late 1970s, where he died of lung cancer in 2008.