| Leszek Blanik | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Leszek Robert Blanik | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Poland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 March 1977 Wodzisław Śląski, Poland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Gdańsk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | AZS AWFiS Gdansk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Andrey Levit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Piotr Mikolajek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Leszek Robert Blanik[1] (born 1 March 1977 in Wodzisław Śląski) is a Polish gymnast, World and Olympic champion in vault. He was the first to perform a handspring double front vault in piked position which now has been named after him.[2]
Blanik picked up a bronze in vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[3]
On 18 August 2008, he won the gold medal in men's vault at the Olympics in Beijing, becoming the first Polish Olympic champion in a gymnastics event.
Blanik won a gold medal in vault at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, earning him an individual berth to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also has two World silver medals, from 2002 in Debrecen, and 2005 in Melbourne.
For his sport achievements, Blanik received:
Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class) in 2008.
Golden Cross of Merit in 2000.
