Quick Facts
Biography
Marian Jerzy Woronin (born 13 August 1956 in Grodzisk Mazowiecki) is a retired Polish athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He is a four-time European Indoor Champion in the 60 metres. He won nine Polish outdoor titles, and nine indoor titles.
His first major medal came at the 1978 European Athletics Championships, where he anchored the Polish 4×100 metres relay team of Zenon Nowosz, Zenon Licznerski and Leszek Dunecki to the gold medal in the event. He won the bronze in the 100 m at the 1979 IAAF World Cup, running for Europe.
He competed for Poland in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Soviet Union in the 100 and 200 he reached both finals finishing seventh in both sprints. In the 4×100 metres relay he won the silver medal with his teammates Krzysztof Zwoliński, Licznerski and Dunecki.
In 1981 he ran with the Polish/Europe sprint relay team that won the gold at the 1981 IAAF World Cup in Rome. He won a bronze in the 100 metres at the 1982 European Athletics Championships.
His fastest time for the 100 m was 10.00 seconds, recorded in 1984 in Warsaw with wind on the maximum allowable limit of 2.0 m/s. This was the European record for the event until Linford Christie ran 9.97 sec at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Although Woronin's official timing read as 10.00 seconds, this was rounded up from 9.992 seconds – some claim this represents the first time that a Caucasian (and a European) broke the 10-second barrier in this event. He is one of only eight individuals not of West African descent to run 100 metres in 10.00 s or less – the others being Koji Ito of Japan (10.00 in 1998), Australian Patrick Johnson (9.93 in 2003), Namibian Frankie Fredericks (9.95 in 1991), Zimbabwean Ngonidzashe Makusha (9.97 in 2011) Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre (9.92 in 2011), who is the first person of European descent to officially break the barrier, Zhang Peimeng (10.00 in 2013) and Su Bingtian (9.99 in 2015), both of China.
Woronin's personal best in the 200 m was 20.49.
Competition record
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Poland | |||||
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | 16th (sf) | 100 m | 10.69 |
| 29th (h) | 200 m | 21.90 | |||
| 4th | 4 × 100 m | 38.83 | |||
| 1977 | European Indoor Championships | San Sebastián, Spain | 3rd | 60 m | 6.67 |
| 1978 | European Championships | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1st | 4 × 100 m | 38.58 |
| 1979 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria | 1st | 60 m | 6.57 |
| 1980 | European Indoor Championships | Sindelfingen, West Germany | 1st | 60 m | 6.62 |
| Olympic Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 7th | 100 m | 10.46 | |
| 7th | 200 m | 20.81 | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m | 38.33 | |||
| 1981 | European Indoor Championships | Grenoble, France | 1st | 50 m | 5.65 |
| 1982 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy | 1st | 60 m | 6.61 |
| European Championships | Athens, Greece | 3rd | 100 m | 10.28 | |
| 5th | 4 × 100 m | 39.00 | |||
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 31st (qf) | 100 m | 10.72 |
| 6th | 4 × 100 m | 38.72 | |||
| 1984 | Friendship Games | Moscow, Soviet Union | 16th (h) | 100 m | 10.66 |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m | 38.81 | |||
| 1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 7th | 100 m | 10.451 |
| 1987 | European Indoor Championships | Liévin, France | 1st | 60 m | 6.51 |
1Representing Europe