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Great Athletes

Irena Szewinska

by Deborah Service

Sport: Track and field (sprints and long jump)

Early Life

Born Irena Kirzenstein in a Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia) refugee camp to Jewish parents from Poland, Irena Szewinska discovered running at an early age. In 1960, she watched U.S. Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph run. Fascinated, Irena hoped to emulate Rudolph. Several months later she won her first track competition and began training seriously. She set her sights on breaking world records like her idol, Rudolph, and becoming an Olympic champion. In 1961, Irena won her first competition. The press recognized her potential and began writing about her. She continued the hard work of training and, little by little, improved her performance.

Irena Szewinska winning a 200-meter race at German track meet in 1974.

ph_Szewinska.jpg

(AP/Wide World Photos)

The Road to Excellence

Her first major competition was the European Junior Championships in Warsaw, Poland, in 1964. She won several races, including her favorite, the 200 meters. This win helped her to qualify for the 1964 team Poland sent to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. She was scheduled to compete in three events: The long jump, the 200 meters, and the 4 100-meter relay.

olympic_szewinska.tif

When Irena looked at her competition, she felt inadequate and under a great deal of pressure. As she waited for her event, however, the eighteen-year-old athlete began to realize that she was at the Olympics as part of an elite group of competitors and a long, prestigious tradition. She set her sights on first making the finals in the long jump. After making the finals, her goal was to improve upon her own personal best. This strategy led to a silver medal in the long jump.

Irena’s next event was the 200 meters. The race consisted of two qualifying rounds leading to the final event. In each stage of this race she again was intent on improving her personal bests. The strategy paid off, and again she won the silver medal.

Irena’s final event was the 4 100-meter relay. The Americans were considered the favorites; however, the Polish team was ambitious. It won the gold and set a world record in the process. Irena left Tokyo with three Olympic medals and was a star in Poland.

One year later, still working to improve her personal bests, Irena set a world record in the 200 meters, toppling Rudolph’s record. In addition to Irena’s sports career, she found time to earn a master’s degree in economics and marry her fiancé Janusz Szewinska.

The Emerging Champion

In 1968, Irena competed in her second Olympics, this time in Mexico City. She competed in four events and medaled in two. She brought home a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint and a gold medal in the 200 meters. While winning the gold she also set a world record.

After Mexico City, she continued training and competing, entering events around the world. By 1970, she was exhausted. That year she gave birth to her first son Andreas and went on a brief hiatus from training. By the end of the year, however, she was again competing. However, she had not trained enough and was not yet back to form—the results of those races were not among her best.

In 1971, Irena’s life was further complicated when she broke her ankle and was unable to train for almost a year. Despite the setbacks, she decided to compete in her third Olympics, this time in 1972, in Munich, Germany. Her extended break in training had its effect on her performance. She left Munich with one medal, a bronze in the 200 meters.

Ever the competitor, she was already planning for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. She was, however, beginning to realize that competing in so many events was taking its toll. As difficult as the decision was, she decided to limit herself to the 400-meter race. She felt since she had already won the 200 meters a number of times and had established world records, she would turn her full attention to another event. At thirty years old, Irena faced stiff competition from eighteen-year-old Christina Brehmer of East Germany. The race was neck-and-neck for the first 300 meters. After that, however, Irena pulled away, finishing in the world-record time of 49.28 seconds.

Continuing the Story

The 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow were Irena’s last and the end of her track career. During the semifinals of the 400 meters she pulled a muscle and was eliminated from the competition.

In 1983, she attended the World Track and Field Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. There she experienced a thrill to rival many of her wins: She met Rudolph. Irena shook the American track star’s hand and told her how happy she was to finally meet her idol.

Summary

Known by her compatriots as “Queen of the Track,” Irena Szewinska was one of the most successful female track stars in history. She competed at five Olympics, in five different events, and won seven medals. She often said sport was her passion and she never grew tired of competing. Her greatest gift was her desire to improve her performance. Rather than worry about her competition, she always chose to concentrate on improving on her own personal bests. In this manner she established her own place in the record books.

Additional Sources

1 

Sears, Edward S. Running Through the Ages. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001.

2 

Slater, Robert. Great Jews in Sports. Rev. ed. Middle Village, N.Y.: Jonathan David, 2005.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Service, Deborah. "Irena Szewinska." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_2263.
APA 7th
Service, D. (2009). Irena Szewinska. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Service, Deborah. "Irena Szewinska." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.