Szymon Kołecki

Szymon Kołecki (Polish pronunciation: [ˈʂɨmɔn kɔˈwɛt͡ski]; born October 12, 1981 in Oława) is a Polish former competitive weightlifter. He won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Kołecki represented the team of Górnik Polkowice. He is around 6'1" (1.85 m). His career was put on hold in the early 2000s (decade), because of a serious back injury. He qualified for the 2004 Polish team, but was disqualified from Olympic competition after a urine sample he provided tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.

Kołecki returned to weightlifting in late 2005, winning European Championships a few months later. He was also a member of the Polish team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, during which he claimed that his recently shaved head had a covert political message.

For his sport achievements, Kołecki received:
Golden Cross of Merit in 2000;

Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (5th Class) in 2008.

• Olympic Games Sydney 2000 - silver;
• World record in clean and jerk, 232,5 kg in Sofia, April 29, 2000;
• World Championships - silver twice (Athens 1999 and Santo Domingo 2006), bronze twice (Antalya 2001, Chiang Mai 2007);
• European Championships - gold four times (1999, 2000, 2007, 2008) and one silver (2006);
• Olympic Games Beijing 2008 - gold.

• "Progress of World Records, Men's 94 kg". International Weightlifting Federation. 

• Snatch: 182.5 kg in 2000 Summer Olympics in class to 94 kg.
• Clean and jerk: World record in clean and jerk, 232.5 kg and polish record 235.0 kg Men's 94 kg.
• Total: 412.5 kg (180 + 232.5) in 2000, Sofia, Bulgaria, European Championships.

• "Results". Official webpage. Retrieved 2009-09-10.