Edward Luckhaus

Poland’s Edward Luckhaus was an all-round track and field athlete who won multiple national titles throughout the 1930s. Luckhaus first became noticed in athletics when he set a Polish record in the javelin throw in 1930. In addition to setting a further nine national records he also became the Polish champion in the triple jump (1931–35, 1939), pentathlon (1933), and the decathlon (1933). At the 1934 European Championships in Torino he finished fourth in the triple jump before finishing 11th in the same event at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

During World War II Luckhaus joined the Wehrmacht in 1942 to fight on the Eastern Front for Nazi Germany. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Gomel. He was released in 1948 and moved to the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen. Whilst in Germany he worked as a physical education teacher, first at a Benedictine monastery in the nearby town of Scheiern, before working at a school in Pfaffenhofen. Luckhaus was also an artist, painter, and graphic designer, with him designing the emblem of the town. He was later honoured with a street being named after him.

Personal Best: TJ – 15.21 (1936).