Elżbieta Krzesińska

Who is Elżbieta Krzesińska?

Elżbieta Krzesińska née Duńska is a retired track and field athlete from Poland, who competed in the long jump. She competed for her native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where she won the gold medal in the Women's Long Jump. She returned to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome but failed to defend her title, finishing second behind Soviet Vera Krepkina.

She won the Polish championships in Long Jump, 80m Hurdles, and Pentathlon. Duńska-Krzesińska participated in three Olympic Games. In 1952, she took 12th place in long jump at the 15th Olympic Games in Helsinki. In 1956, she won gold medal at the 16th Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1960, she won silver medal, behind Vera Krepkina, at the 17th Olympic Games in Rome.

In 1954, she took 3rd, behind Jean Desforges, and Aleksandra Chudina, at the 5th European Championships in Athletics in Bern. In 1954, she won both in long jump and pentathlon at World Student Games in Budapest. In August 1956, she broke the world record in long jump in Budapest, and equal in November 1956 in the Melbourne Olympics. In 1959, she won at the 1st Universiade in Turin. In 1962, she took 2nd, behind Tatyana Shchelkanova, at the 7th European Championships in Athletics in Belgrade.