Leszek Błażyński

Leszek Błażyński was a Polish boxer who twice won the bronze medal in the men's flyweight division at the Summer Olympics. He first did so in 1972, when Munich hosted the Games. Four years later in Montreal, he once again captured the bronze after a loss in the semifinals against eventual winner Leo Randolph of the United States.
Błażyński won the silver medal in the 1971 European Amateur Boxing Championships and the gold medal in the 1977 European Amateur Boxing Championships. Later in his career, he became a boxing coach.

Personal life

Błażyński was born in Ełk, Warmińsko-Mazurskie. His father died of tuberculosis when Błażyński was 12 years old. The father's death caused financial hardship for the surviving family, which prompted Błażyński, whose boxing talent was already showing, to start fighting to earn food.
He eventually married and had two children, one of whom became a sports journalist.
He struggled with alcohol and became depressed after his wife died of injuries from a serious fall. He died in 1992 in Katowice, Śląskie, at the age of 43. The cause of death was suicide. He was buried at the Communal Cemetery in Katowice.

1972

1976