Andrzej Laszczak

Andrzej Laszczak ( born May 5, 1976 in Szczyrk ) is a Polish natural track luge. He also starts in the single-seater, but is particularly successful in doubles. After he started with Marcin Pawlus several years, he is since 1999 a doubles pair with Damian Waniczek. They won in the 2001/2002 season the World Cup, won so far in ten World Cup races, won the silver medal at the European Championships in 2010 and another five bronze medals at world and European championships. Andrzej Laszczak has so far been 14 times Polish Champion in doubles, twelve of them with Damian Waniczek.

Career

Andrzej Laszczak since 1991 takes part in competitions in tobogganing and celebrated its first success in 1993 when he was together with Jerzy Sidoruk Polish Champion in doubles. In the World Cup starts Laszczak both in doubles and in the single-seater. While he is one of the single-seater for top national and scored several podiums at the Polish Championship, he reached the World Cup in this discipline usually only placements between rank 20 and rank 30, rarely also in the top 20, and the overall World Cup also mostly placements between rank 20 and 30 in doubles, however, Andrzej Laszczak among the world leaders. In the second half of the 1990s he achieved together with Marcin Pawlus the first good results in the World Cup. Although the duo drove in any race on the podium, but reached in the seasons 1995/1996 and 1997/1998 as well as the sixth in the 1996/1997 season fifth overall in doubles World Cup. At the World Cup in 1996 and the European Championships in 1997, the duo Pawlus / Laszczak each scored seventh place in doubles, while Andrzej Laszczak came only on the positions 30 and 33 in the single-seater. In the 1998/1999 season Andrzej Laszczak denied any World Cup race but started at the European Championships in 1999 in his hometown Szczyrk, where he reached the 16th place in the single-seater and with Pawlus fourth place in the doubles. In addition, Marcin Pawlus and Andrzej Laszczak 1999 Polish masters were in doubles.

Since the season 1999/2000 Andrzej Laszczak starts together with the five years younger Damian Waniczek in the World Cup. The two had already participated together at the European Junior Championships in 1996 in Szczyrk, where she finished fifth in doubles. In single-seater Andrzej Laszczak had then occupied the 15th place. After Andrzej Laszczak and Damian Waniczek once came in the first three World Cup races of the 1999/2000 season in the top five, they achieved the first great success at the World Championships in Olang end of January 2000. There she gained behind the Italians Armin and David Mair and the Austrians Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl the bronze medal, and thus the first medal for Poland at the 1979 World Championships has been held since at all. Three weeks later, in the World Cup, the first podium finish, when they reached the third place in Železniki on 20 February 2000. In the World Cup this was the second podium finish for Poland, after six years earlier the double Krzysztof Neviadomski and Michał Andrzejewski had also achieved a third place. In the overall World Cup Laszczak / Waniczek occupied in their first season together just ahead of Russian Denis Alimov and Roman Molwistow fourth place. They were also 2000 Polish Champion in Doubles and could defend every year this item before, which means they were until 2011 twelve times Polish champion in doubles and Andrzej Laszczak with the two previous titles already 14 times won the national championship.

Something worse than the previous year was the season 2000 /2001. Podiums remained of her best World Cup result was a fourth place in Lüsen and they fell to sixth in the overall standings. At the World Championship 2001 in Stein an der Enns they were on the third placed Peter Lechner and Peter Braunegger fourth with just under a second behind. In the inaugural team competition came the Polish team, the next Andrzej Lasczak and Damian Waniczek still belonged to Magdalena Hula, on the fourth and - after the failure of the team Austria I - last place. As early as next winter we went back uphill steeply and Laszczak / Waniczek celebrated the first World Cup race of the season 2001/2002 in Olang their first victory and at the same time the first World Cup victory for Poland at all. This was followed by a second place in the second race of Olang, and a third place in parallel competition of Triesenberg, only in Obergurgl they did not come in fifth on the podium. With two more victories in the last two World Cup races in Huttau and Železniki secured the poles by a margin of 55 points on the Austrians Beer / Kögl become the first and only time in the overall World Cup victory. In the discharged one week after the World Cup Final 2002 European Championships in Frantschach - Sankt Gertraud Laszczak / Waniczek won in a tight decision, the bronze medal, 17 hundredths of a second behind the winners Wolfgang and Andreas Schopf and only six hundredths of a second behind second-placed Reinhard Beer and Herbert Kögl. In single-seater Andrzej Laszczak waived by number 31 in the first round to a start in the second race.

In the World Cup the next season began as successful as the last one ended. Laszczak / Waniczek won the first two races in Fie and Umhausen, were runners-up in Moscow and were in the fourth race of the season in Huttau again at the top of the podium, making it a lead of 60 points on the Russians Pawel Porschnew and at this point in the intermediate ranking Ivan Lazarev had. But in the last two races, the Poles came only fourth place, while the Russians were victorious once and once placed second and thus prevented the re overall World Cup victory of the Poles; Laszczak / Waniczek occupied by ten points behind second place overall. In the 2003 World Cup in Železniki they missed a medal by 27 hundredths of a second and was like two years ago Fourth. In the 2003/2004 season, the Poles had to do with the decision in the World Cup from the start bit. In the first four races they once drove, as second in Grande Prairie, on the podium. The fifth World Cup race, the parallel competition in Triesenberg, they won though, but in the end they did not come in the World Cup about the fourth addition. At the 2004 European Championships in Huttau they drove only in seventh place. The next season did not begin with two fifth places in Longiaru and Unterammergau as desired. Then Laszczak / Waniczek ended but all four World Cup races on the podium, winning twice in Oberperfuss and Latzfons, reaching even the second place in the overall World Cup, 60 points behind Beer / Kögl and ten points ahead Porschnew / Lazarev. After two fourth places at the last two World Championships Laszczak / Waniczek won at the 2005 World Championships in Laces - as five years earlier - again the bronze medal and remained just two hundredths of a second behind second placed Armin Mair and John Hofer. In the team competition, scoring the Polish team, consisting of Andrzej Laszczak, Damian Waniczek and Karolina Waniczek, with only one point behind the team Italy I fourth. Laszczak / Waniczek were achieved in the doubles the best time. After Andrzej Laszczak had skipped in recent years in the number of single-seat World Cup races and took at World and European Championships in the last six years, only once in a single-seater, it has been this winter, even without his partner regularly again at the start. As in previous years, he also scored in this and in the following seasons mostly placements between rank 20 and rank 30 and reached just such results in the World Cup. In the 2005 World Cup, he was able to placed with rank 27 in the midfield.

The victory in the opening race of the season 2005/2006 in Longiaru was the most recent of the two poles in the World Cup. In the second half of the season they went twice, as a third party in Grande Prairie and second in Oberperfuss, on the podium, but fell in the World Cup back in fourth place. Unusually bad was the season 2006/2007. For the first time in six years they traveled in any World Cup race in the top three, and were, as well as six years earlier, only sixth in the World Cup. In the 2006 European Championship in Obergurgl achieved Laszczak / Waniczek ninth place their worst career earnings; but at the 2007 World Championships in Grande Prairie they could improve in fourth place again, they also occupied there with Kinga Gawlas and Adam Jędrzejko fifth place in the team competition. In single-seater Andrzej Laszczak came at the 2006 European Championships on rank 33 and at the 2007 World Cup at No. 26 in the 2007/2008 season the double Laszczak / Waniczek again reached two second places in moss pass in eggs and Laces. With two more top 5 results they occupied in the World Cup behind the Italians Patrick Pigneter and Florian Clara, who won all six races of the season, and the Russians Porschnew / Lazarev third place. At the 2008 European Championships in Olang but they were only seventh in single-seater drove Andrzej Laszczak ranked 25th

Two third places were Andrzej Laszczaks and Damian Waniczeks best World Cup results in the seasons 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 and in two years they came with two other top 5 results to fourth place in the overall World Cup. At the 2009 World Championships in moss in pass eggs they won for the third time after 2000 and 2005, the bronze medal in the doubles. In addition, they were together with Natalia Waniczek and Adam Jędrzejko fifth in the team competition and Andrzej Laszczak took place in single-seater 29 The largest after her overall World Cup victory success so far succeeded in Poland at the European Championships 2010 in St. Sebastian. After they had already four times finished third and just as often ranked fourth in international championships, Andrzej Laszczak and Damian Waniczek won at the 2010 European Championships with the respective second fastest run time and a gap of 1.52 seconds on the Italians Patrick Pigneter and Florian Clara and a lead of 29 hundredths of a second on the Russian Alexander Yegorov and Pyotr Popov, the silver medal in the doubles. In addition, they were with Natalia Waniczek and Adam Jędrzejko sixth in the team competition; in the single-seater was Andrzej Laszczak 26

At the beginning of the season 2010/2011 Andrzej Laszczak not participated in the two World Cup races in Novouralsk. In single-seater he scored then with rankings similar to Rank 25 World Cup results as in previous years. In doubles Laszczak / Waniczek began the season in mid-January with a ninth place in the World Cup races in Gsies. At the World Cup 2011 in Obergurgl two weeks later they were successful and won for the fourth time the bronze medal in the doubles. In the team competition, they finished together with the single seaters Violetta Ryś and Adam Jędrzejko eighth place out of nine teams; in the single-seater Laszczak was 27 in the World Cup, the duo Laszczak / Waniczek however since the 2000/2001 season was the first time without the podium. In the overall World Cup they fell back to eighth place. Also in the World Cup season 2011/2012 they succeeded no podium, but with four top 5 results, Laszczak / Waniczek could improve again in fifth in doubles overall World Cup. In single-seater Andrzej Laszczak placed as last year mostly to rank 25, with which he was again 25th in the overall World Cup. At the European Championships 2012 in Novouralsk Laszczak was 25 in the single-seater, while the duo Laszczak / Waniczek ranked in doubles and fifth place in the team competition in a mixed team with the two -seaters Adam Jędrzejko and Slovenian Petra Dragicevic eighth.

Achievements

( unless otherwise stated, two-seater with Damian Waniczek )

World Championships

  • Oberperfuss 1996: 30 seater, 7 doubles ( with Marcin Pawlus )
  • Olang 2000: 3 doubles
  • Stein an der Enns 2001: 4 doubles, 4 crew
  • Železniki 2003: 4 doubles
  • Laces 2005: 27 seater, 3 doubles, 4 crew
  • Grande Prairie 2007: 26 single-seat, 4 doubles, 5 team
  • Moos in Passeier 2009: 29 seater, 3 doubles, 6 team
  • Umhausen 2011: 27 seater, 3 doubles, 8 team

European Championships

  • Moos in Passeier 1997: 33 seater, 7 doubles ( with Marcin Pawlus )
  • Szczyrk 1999: 16 single-seat, 4 doubles ( with Marcin Pawlus )
  • Frantschach 2002: 3 doubles
  • Huttau 2004: 7 doubles
  • Umhausen 2006: 33 seater, 9 seater double
  • Olang 2008: 25 seater, 7 doubles
  • St. Sebastian 2010: 26 seater, 2 doubles, 6 team
  • Novouralsk 2012: 25 seater, 5 doubles, 8 team

European Junior Championships

  • Szczyrk 1996: 15 seater, 5 doubles

World Cup

  • Overall World Cup victory in doubles in the 2001/2002 season
  • 2nd place overall in doubles Luge World Cup in the seasons 2002/2003 and 2004/2005
  • 3rd place overall in doubles Luge World Cup in the 2007 /2008 season
  • 25 podiums including 10 victories:

Polish Championships

FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2000 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2005 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2009 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2011 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2002 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2010 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 1996 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1997 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 1999 David Mair (natural track luger and skeleton racer) FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2001 Frantschach-Sankt Gertraud Wolfgang Schopf FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2004 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2006 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships 2007 FIL European Luge Natural Track Championships 2008 Sankt Sebastian, Styria Aleksandr Yegorov (luger) Corrado Hérin Helmut Ruetz Andi Ruetz Christian Schatz
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