INTRODUCTION
Both our countries have great sport traditions. Of course the most popular sport in Scotland
and also in Poland is football, so we have written a lot about it. But there are other disciplines
in which we have bigger successes. We have written about present achievements generally
because it has no sense to write about past. If someone wants to know more about history of
sport, he/she will read about it in other sites. I think it is very boring for most of teenagers.
We hope You will find our article very interesting.
RUGBY
This sport is very popular in Scotland. You have very good league and fantastic national team.
Your major honours are: Five Nations Grand Slam (1925, 1984 & 1990), Four Nations
(1886, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1895, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1907), Five Nations (1925, 1926, 1927,
1929, 1933, 1938, 1964 - shared - 1973, 1999). But in last five years other teams (like
Australia or England) have dominated in the world. In Poland rugby is not popular. We have
small league and poor national team. Children do not play rugby at school. Teacher prefer
football or basketball. In our opinion it is not good but we hope it will change.
Photos to rugby:
MOTOSPORTS
Motosports are very popular in our countries. We have good rally drivers like Kuzaj or
Hołowczyc. We are also good at speedway. Our best riders are Tomasz Gollob and Jarosław
Hampel. But they are not as well known as Colin Mcrae or David Coulthard. They are very
famous in whole world. David Coulthard is a formula 1 driver. He has not got a world
champion title but he has won many grand prix. Colin Mcrae was a rally driver who won a
world champion title in 1995. He has become, without doubt, one of the outstanding rallying
talents of his generation. Recently he took part in Dakar 2004. In this discipline You are better
too.
Photos to motosports:
ATHLETICS
In this sport we have much success. I have not heard about famous Scottish athlete. Poland is
not a force in athletics too but we have many good athletes. Probably the most famous is
Robert Korzeniowski. He is fourth times Olympic champion in walking. He is also a
multimedal holder of world & European championships. Other famous athletes are hammer
throwers Kamila Skolimowska and Szymon Ziółkowski. I think that Poland is better than
Scotland in athletics.
Photos to athletics:
CYCLING
It is a sport in which Scotland is better than Poland in cause of one man- David Millar.
He is the best individual time trial (ITT) cyclist in the world in my opinion. He has many gold
medals from world championships. But last doping scandal connected with him was really
nasty. In Poland we have not got any famous cyclists, but we have a big race called Tour de
Pologne. It is contained in Pro-Tour series.
Photos to cycling:
WINTER SPORT:
Both Scotland and Poland are not a power in winter sports. But we have one man who makes
Poland more famous- Adam Małysz. He is the best ski jumper in the world. His greatest
successes are: 3 times world cup winner(consecutive), silver and bronze medal holder from
Salt Lake City 2002, 3 times gold medal holder in world championships. He is one of the
most popular sportsmen in Poland. We also have young ski jumpers who have great talent and
I hope that they will achieve a lot.
Photos to winter sports:
SWIMMING
This is next discipline in which Poland is better than Scotland. And again it is a merit of one
woman- Otylia Jędrzejczak. She is world famous swimmer whose career develops very fast.
On last Olympic Games she won three medals. She has thirteen national records. Her main
style is butterfly. In my opinion Poland will have much success in swimming in the future.
Maybe Scotland too…
Photos to swimming:
SNOOKER
Scotland is far better in snooker than Poland. You have many players who win in different
championships. Your best player was Stephen Hendry - the legend of snooker. He inspired a
generation of great players to follow in his footsteps. Snooker is not very popular in Poland so
we have not got any famous players.
Photos to snooker:
TRADITONAL SPORTS
In our country traditional sports are not popular. We have only small knight games which do
not have much attendance. But in Scotland is differently. Over the summer months, Aberdeen
and Grampian Highlands has a packed calendar of traditional Highland Games. Scottish
Highland Games are a series of events where people gather to watch athletes from throughout
Scotland and further a field toss the caber, throw the hammer, and take part in many other
traditional games. Colourful, exciting, competitive, memorable, world famous - just a few of
the words that sum up the fun of Scottish Highland Games. From the skill and agility of the
heavies, the colourful and proud massed pipebands, and the traditional flair of the highland
dancers, this is a historic spectacle not to be missed. The grand finale of the Games season,
the Braemar Gathering, is the biggest and most prestigious Scottish Highland Games event.
Queen Elizabeth II is Patron of the Braemar Gathering, which not only attracts a great crowd
but also enjoys annual attendance from the Royal Family. Steeped in tradition, the Highland
Games date back more than 1000 years when locals showcased their men’s physical prowess.
Games like the Braemar and Lonach Gatherings attract thousands of spectators. Smaller town
games have equal appeal however – by their very nature, they are more intimate than the
larger events.
Photos to traditional sports:
STRONGMAN
It is a sport in which Poland has great success. Scotland also has a world champion in the
past. His name is Douglas Edmunds(he is a referee now). But our champion is more famous.
Mariusz Pudzianowski is the strongest man in the world. His greatest achievements are:
Year 2004
1st - Polish Cup Strongest Man
1st - Team World Championship in Płock
1st - European Championship in Jelenia Góra
3rd - World's Strongest Man held Bahamas
Year 2003
1st - Polish Cup Strongest Man
1st - World Cup "Super Series"
1st - World's Strongest Man held Zambia
1st - World Record Breakers in Gdynia
1st - Team World Championship in Hungary
1st - European Championship in Sandomierz
Year 2002
1st - World's Strongest Man held Malaysia
1st - World's Giants in Ireland
1st - European Championship in Gdynia
Year 2000
1st - World Cup's Grand Prix of Poland
4th - World's Strongest Man held RPA
2st - Team World Championship in Hungary
Year 1999
1st - Polish Cup
3rd - Team World Championship in China
As You see he has dominated this sport since 1999. If You want much information visit his
website- www.pudzian.pl (there is also an English version).
Photos to strongman:
ENDING:
Of course the list of different sports is very long but we have chosen only that sports in which
Poland and Scotland can be compared and which are popular. The conclusion is that both
countries are good at various disciplines and can be proud of their great achievements.