Zbigniew Czajkowski

Poland’s Zbigniew Czajkowski was one of the best fencing coaches the country has ever produced, with him coaching multiple champions during his long career. Czajkowski first took up fencing in 1934 when he joined the Lviv Cadet Corps, but his career was put on hold with the outbreak of war a few years later. He enlisted in the Polish Navy but was captured by the Soviet forces and sent to a labour camp. After being moved around to several other camps, Czajkowski was released in September 1941 and sent to Uzbekistan. Six months later he rejoined the Polish Navy, eventually being based in England, serving in the Navy until the war was over.

After returning to Poland Czajkowski initially worked as a doctor before becoming a fencer, winning gold in the individual foil at the 1950 national championships. During the decade he won multiple medals at the Polish championships in both the foil and sabre, as well as bronze in the team sabre event at the 1953 World Championships. One year earlier Czajkowski was named as an alternate for the foil and sabre events at the Helsinki Olympics but did not compete at the Games.

Czajkowski soon earned his first-class coaching certificate and coached many fencers, including Egon Franke, the first Polish fencer to win an individual gold at the Olympics. His other students included Franke’s wife Elżbieta, who won eight Polish titles, Olympic bronze medallist Bogdan Gonsior, and other Olympians and national champions including Jacek Bierkowski, Zbigniew Matwiejew, and Mikołaj Pomarnacki. In addition to individual success Czajkowski was the director of training at the Polish Fencing Association, coached the Polish Olympic team throughout the 1960s, and authored more than 30 books. He was 98-years-old when he died in February 2019.