Olympic cycling silver medalist Szurkowski dies at 75

Szurkowski won his Olympic medals in 1972 and 1976 as part of the Polish team in the road race. He also won three world championship titles, including one in the individual road race for amateurs in 1973.

Szurkowski was also a four-time winner of the Peace Race, the communist bloc's equivalent of the Tour de France.

Ryszard Szurkowski, a two-time Olympic cycling silver medalist from Poland, died Monday. He was 75.

Iwona Arkuszewska-Szurkowska said her husband died at a hospital in Radom, central Poland. He had been battling cancer.

Szurkowski won his Olympic medals in 1972 and 1976 as part of the Polish team in the road race. He also won three world championship titles, including one in the individual road race for amateurs in 1973.

“Legend. The best Polish rider of all times. Ryszard Szurkowski 1946-2021. RIP,” Polish cyclist Michal Kwiatkowski wrote on Twitter.

Legend. The best Polish rider of all times. Ryszard Szurkowski 1946-2021. RIP pic.twitter.com/UirAxsxLl4

— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) February 1, 2021

 

Szurkowski was in a cycling accident in Germany in June 2018 and later used a wheelchair.

Szurkowski had two sons, but one was killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

The office of Poland President Andrzej Duda said on Facebook that Szurkowski was “one of Poland’s most outstanding sports people, the one with most titles, 1973 World Champion.”

Szurkowski was also a four-time winner of the Peace Race, the communist bloc's equivalent of the Tour de France.