EMIGRATION STATION
Meeting – discusion
Meeting with judoka Janusz Pawłowski, Olympic medalist, and trainer
Athlete in exile
Moderation: Włodzimierz Machnikowski
Applauded by thousands, winner of important sporting events, including perhaps the most important – the Olympic games. Janusz Pawłowski is a living legend of Polish judo. How did the experience of emigration influence his perception of sport and athletes? What does a trainer’s work look like abroad? Does modern sport have a homeland any more, or has it turned into an international industry? Does an athlete miss his country?
The Emigration Museum invites you to the Infobox in Gdynia on October 30, 5.30 p.m. for a meeting with Janusz Pawłowski – two-time Olympic medalist in judo and an outstanding trainer who has been working for many years with athletes in Kuwait and Italy. The meeting will be a good reminder of the successes achieved by this meritorious judoka, but also a chance to talk about his emigration experiences and about the situation of Polish athletes and trainers continuing their careers outside of Poland.
Janusz Pawłowski was born in 1959 in Sopot. One of the most distinguished Polish judokas, a Bronze Medalist at the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980, and a Silver Medalist of the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. A judo toss he performed at the the Seoul semi-final was chosen as the most impressive move of the whole tournament. He has been champion of Poland several times, and a medalist of World and European championships. After his athletic career, he became an outstanding trainer (working with the Polish National Team, as well as contestants in Kuwait and in Italy). A Meritorious Sport Champion, he was awarded the Silver Medal for his Outstanding Achievements in Sport, and a Silver Medal of Honor. In 2013, he presented his very own star at the Alley of Sport Stars in Cetniewo, honoring the most distinguished people of sport from Poland and abroad. He now trains Italian contestants in Torino.
The meeting will be moderated by Włodzimierz Machnikowski, sports journalist for Radio Gdańsk, known Tri-city sports commentator, and co-author of “Muzyczne wędrówki Łosia I Basiora” (En: “Musical journeys by Łoś and Basior”), a radio show performed with Dariusz Podbereski.
Entry is free!
