The tragic jump of a Polish star ends in disaster. The minister had a request

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"After the fall, I threw down my skis and ran to him. Dzidek was still conscious. He said he felt neither his arms nor legs. However, I didn’t see any injuries. I thought that the limp was just a shock effect," recounts Władysław Tajner about the tragic fall of Zdzisław Hryniewiecki. The 22-year-old jumper was expected to go to Squaw Valley for the Olympics aiming for a gold medal, but his last attempt before leaving for the event brutally dashed his dreams.

• Zdzisław Hryniewiecki was a rising star of Polish sport in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
• His promising career, originating from Lviv, was cut short by a tragic accident on the Wisła-Malinka ski jump.
• According to Wojciech Fortuna’s story, Hryniewiecki had completed his training but performed an extra jump at the request of the then sports minister.
• The leap ended with a tragic fall. The 22-year-old broke his fifth cervical vertebra and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
• Zdzisław Hryniewiecki passed away on November 17, 1981, at the age of only 43.
• Find more interesting stories in Przegląd Sportowy Onet

When Zdzisław Hryniewiecki entered any establishment, even the most crowded, it was impossible not to glance his way for at least a fraction of a second. Tall, handsome, always stylishly and elegantly dressed, he radiated charm. By the late 1950s, he was already a true star in the best sense of the word. Andrzej Łozowski, a long-time journalist for "Rzeczpospolita", even compared him to James Dean.

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"He wanted to be great on the jump and just as great outside of it. He was meant to be the James Dean of Polish sport: just as handsome as the American actor, maybe just less rebellious," described the jumper. And there was something cinematic about it, for years Hryniewiecki befriended famous actor Zbigniew Cybulski, with whom he spent time during ski competitions in Zakopane or Wisła.

Zdzisław Hryniewiecki heading for gold medal

Hryniewiecki first attracted significant attention after winning the Polish championship in 1959, leaving behind, among others, Jan Furman and Władysław Tajner (the uncle of Apoloniusz). More successes followed, including setting the Polish record on the mammoth hill at Kulm in Tauplitz, Austria, where he jumped 116 meters.

He made an astounding entry into the forefront of global ski jumping. This was particularly impressive as Hryniewiecki was not a native highlander. He was born and raised in Lviv, and his family relocated to Bielsko-Biała after WWII.

• See also: Fans in Zakopane made his life miserable. Adam Małysz was outraged and apologized

"Dzidek," as his friends called him, even won against Helmut Recknagel—a German jumper who was the first to win all four competitions of the Four Hills Tournament (though not in a single season) and was considered the king of the discipline at that time.

However, the Pole felt he could dethrone the German at the upcoming Squaw Valley Olympic Games, which were fast approaching. He was in great shape. "I’m heading for Olympic gold, but silver and bronze count too. After all, it’s only my first Olympics," he announced in "Express Wieczorny." The interview appeared on January 27, 1960, the day before the last training session before leaving for the event.

The last jump of "Dzidek" Hryniewiecki

On January 28, everything was proceeding according to plan for the athlete and the coach of the Polish team, Mieczysław Kozdrun. Hryniewiecki and his colleagues were making successive jumps when the coach announced the end of training. Then, according to Wojciech Fortuna’s story told on WP SportoweFakty, the sports minister stepped in. "It’s such a waste, coach, that I won’t see any more jumps, as I have to leave tomorrow," Włodzimierz Reczek allegedly said. At that moment, the coach called Hryniewiecki back for one more demonstration jump.

It ended with a tragic fall on the icy landing area. According to eyewitness accounts, the jumper kicked off too early. The tips of the skis slid across the ice while their backs and the athlete were already in the air. "The force made Dzidek perform a forward somersault. I was surprised he didn’t try to save himself. He fell limply like a plane without control. It lasted seconds," Władysław Tajner recounted. The 22-year-old Hryniewiecki hit his neck and back on the landing.

"I threw down my skis and ran to him. Dzidek was still conscious. He said he felt neither his arms nor legs. However, I didn’t see any injuries. I thought that the limp was just a shock effect," he recalled in a conversation with PAP.

• See also: The “new Małysz” met success too soon. “He sometimes jumped while hungover”

The jumper was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Cieszyn. Apoloniusz Tajner recalls that although he was only 6 years old, he still remembers the concerning sound of the sirens that spread throughout Wisła. The jumper was later airlifted to Piekary Śląskie, where he received the devastating diagnosis: fractured body of the fifth cervical vertebra and spinal cord damage.

Hryniewiecki’s story does not have a happy ending

Zdzisław Hryniewiecki spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Intense and long-term rehabilitation allowed him to partially regain mobility in his arms, but his legs and fingers remained paralyzed. He did not seek blame. "In the second attempt, I did not take into account coach Kozdrun's advice to jump more carefully. But it was not bravado. Or maybe my class got the better of me, my stubbornness?" he pondered years later.

Hryniewiecki did not give up, at least he came to terms with the thought of the end of his career and living in a wheelchair. He appeared at ski jumping competitions, happily handing out autographs to fans, and continued his rehabilitation. It was in one of the centers that he met Wanda Górska. A strong relationship developed between the nurse and the former jumper. The couple married, but this story also did not end happily.

• See also: He was called “Harri alkohOlli.” He could have been the best in the world, but he preferred to party

After five years, Hryniewiecki and Górska's marriage ended, and the court granted a divorce. Alcohol increasingly appeared in the jumper's life, exacerbating his depression. The former champion went out less and less, completely neglecting himself and stopping his rehabilitation. By 1976, he had bedsores that prevented him from sitting. His health declined further, with kidney and circulation issues arising.

He died on November 17, 1981. He was only 43 years old. He was laid to rest in a family grave at the cemetery in Bielsko-Biała. A ski jump was named in his honor on "Biały Krzyż" below the Salmopolska Pass in the Silesian Beskids. In May 2000, the dilapidated facility was consumed by fire and was never rebuilt.