Marek Galiński (cyclist)

Marek Galiński

Personal information
Full name	Marek Galiński
Born	1 August 1974 Opoczno, Poland
Died	17 March 2014 (aged 39) Jędrzejów, Poland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Mountain biking
Role	Rider
Rider type	Cross-country
Professional team(s)
2001	Lotto-PZU
2002–2003	CCC–Polsat
2003–2004	Club Deportivo Orbea
2004	Hoop–CCC–Polsat
2005	Orbea (MTB)
2006	Grupa PSB
2007	CCC–Polsat–Polkowice
2008	JBG2-APC Presmet
2008–2011	JBG2 Professional MTB Team
Infobox last updated on October 26, 2013

Marek Galiński (1 August 1974 – 17 March 2014) was a Polish professional mountain biker.^[1] During his sporting career, he won nine Polish national championship titles and a silver medal in men's cross-country racing at the 2003 UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany. Galinski also represented his nation Poland in four editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008), where he competed in men's mountain biking from the time that it officially became an Olympic sport in 1996. Galinski raced professionally for more than five seasons on the JBG2 Professional MTB Team.^[2] After his retirement from the sport in 2011, Galinski worked as an assistant coach of both Polish and Russian mountain bike national teams. Upon his return from a training camp in Cyprus on 17 March 2014, Galinski was suddenly killed in a car accident near Jędrzejów.

Racing career

Galinski made his official international debut for Poland at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he finished twenty-ninth in the inaugural men's cross-country race with a time of 2:45:54.^[3]

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Galinski further excelled his cross-country ride from Atlanta with a twenty-first-place effort in the same program, posting an official time of 2:17:35.^[4]

In 2001, Galinski turned himself into an elite professional rider by signing an exclusive sponsorship contract with the Lotto-PZU cycling team, followed by short stints on the CCC–Polsat and Club Deportivo Orbea MTB teams. Later the mountain biker's career flourished with his early career highlight the earning of a silver medal at the UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany, trailing behind leader and Swiss rider Christoph Sauser by eleven seconds.^[5]

While competing for his third Polish squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Galinski scored a career-high, fourteenth place in the men's cross-country race with a time of 2:22:14, edging out Austria's Christoph Soukup on the final lap by a 36-second limit.^[6][7] In that same year, Galinski grabbed his first ever Polish national championship title in men's mountain biking, and mounted a top-five finish at the UCI World Championships in Les Gets, France.^[8][9]

Twelve years after his official Olympic debut, Galinski qualified for his fourth Polish squad, as a 34-year-old and the nation's cycling team captain, in the men's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth for his team from the Polish Cycling Federation (Polish: Polski Związek Kolarski) and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), based on his best performance at the World Cup series, World Championships, and Mountain Biking World Series.^[10] Galinski lost a spirited challenge against Great Britain's Oliver Beckingsale, but managed to pick up a thirteenth spot to complete a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course in 2:01:29, recording the highest position in his entire Olympic career.^[11][12][13]

Shortly after the Olympics, Galinski continued to ride for the JBG2 Professional MTB Team, and eventually accepted an offer from the Polish and Russian mountain bike teams to be their assistant coach. Indeed, he coached the women's national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.^[14]

Death

On 17 March 2014, just shortly after midnight, Galinski had reportedly landed in Krakow upon his return from a training camp in Cyprus and was driving a car to his hometown Opoczno, when he skidded off the road going around the bend and hit a tree through the outskirts of Jędrzejów. Rescuers had to free him with hydraulic tools upon releasing him from a traffic collision, but his injuries proved fatal after being taken to the hospital. Galinski died in a car accident at the age of 39^[14][15]

Career achievements

1996

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cyclo-cross, U23), Nowogard (POL)

29th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Atlanta, Georgia, (USA)

1998

3rd Polish MTB Championships (Cyclo-cross), Ełk (POL)

2000

2nd Stage 6, Bałtyk–Karkonosze Tour, Jelenia Góra (POL)

3rd Stage 5, Tour of Macedonia, Strumica (MKD)

21st Olympic Games (Cross-country), Sydney, (AUS)

25th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Sierra Nevada, (ESP)

2002

14th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Kaprun, (AUT)

2003

9th Overall, UCI World Cup (Cross-country)

Stage 2, Sankt Wendel (GER)

2004

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)

5th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Les Gets, (FRA)

14th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Athens, (GRE)

2005

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Olsztyn (POL)

11th Stage 1, UCI World Cup (Cross-country), Spa Francorchamps (BEL)

2006

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Wałbrzych (POL)

8th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Livigno, (ITA)

2007

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Szczawno-Zdrój (POL)

2008

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)

13th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Beijing (CHN)

17th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Val di Sole (ITA)

2009

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)

2010

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Wałbrzych (POL)

2011

1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Poland

2012

2nd Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Poland

References

1. "Marek Galiński". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
2. "Wielkie koła górą – Marek Galiński mistrzem Polski MTB" [Giant wheels on the mountain – Marek Galiński is the Polish MTB champion] (in Polish). Team 29er. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
3. "Atlanta 1996: Cycling (Mountain Biking) – Men's Cross-Country Race" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 191. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
4. "Sydney 2000: Cycling (Mountain Biking) – Men's Cross-Country Race" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 18. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
5. "Dahle; Sauser tops at St. Wendel". Velo News. 25 May 2003. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
6. Jones, Rob (26 August 2004). "Absalon perfect as France defends gold". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
7. "Cycling: Men's Cross-Country Race". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
8. Jones, Rob (12 September 2004). "Absalon adds World Title to Olympic gold". Les Gets: Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
9. Tyniec, Marek (9 July 2004). "Galiński i Włoszczowska mistrzami Polski w XC" [Galiński and Włoszczowska became Polish champions in XC] (in Polish). Bike World Polski. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
10. "Marek Galiński jedzie do Pekinu!" [Marek Galiński is going to beijing] (in Polish). Piechowice: Bureau of Information and Propaganda. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
11. "Men's Cross-Country Race". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
12. ""Unbeatable" Absalon wins his second gold". Agence France-Presse. Velo News. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
13. "Julien Absalon mistrzem olimpijskim w kolarstwie górskim / Marek Galiński 13." [Olympic champion Julien Absalon in mountain biking, Marke Galiński finishes thirteenth.] (in Polish). Sportowe Fakty. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
14. "Marek Galinski killed in Poland". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
15. "Znane są okoliczności wypadku Marka Galińskiego" [Marek Galiński dies in a car accident] (in Polish). Onet. Retrieved 17 March 2014.

External links

• NBC Olympics Profile
• Marek Galiński profile at Cycling Archives