Józef Zapędzki

Józef Zapędzki competed in the rapid-fire pistol, 25 metres event at five consecutive Olympics, from 1964 through 1980, and won the title twice, in 1968 and 1972. His only other international victory came in the 25 metre centre-fire pistol event at the 1965 European Championships. He reached the podium, however, six other times at the Europeans between 1962 and 1975 and twice at the Worlds, with silver in the rapid-fire pistol and bronze in the 50 metre team pistol event in 1966, in the latter alongside Rajmund Stachurski and non-Olympians Józef Frydle and Henryk Sacz. Nationally, he earned 23 titles.

Zapędzki’s father was killed at the Dachau Concentration Camp in 1942 and the young Zapędzki was engaged in forced labor with the railways until Poland was liberated. He joined the military in 1949, where he learned to shoot at a relatively late age, and also attended the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław, which led to a later career as a sport shooting coach.