Jerzy Kulej

Who was Jerzy Kulej?

Jerzy Kulej was a Polish boxer and politician.

Kulej was born in Częstochowa, Poland. At the Summer Olympics in 1964 he won a gold medal in the Light welterweight division defeating Yevgeni Vasilyevich Frolov. In 1968, he defended his title in a close match against a Cuban boxer Enrique Regüeiferos becoming the only Polish boxer to ever win two Olympic gold medals. He also twice won a gold medal at the European Amateur Championships in 1963 and 1965, and won a silver medal in 1967. He had a record of 317 wins, 6 draws and 25 losses.

In 1976, he made an appearance in a movie Przepraszam, czy tu biją? directed by Marek Piwowski. In 1995, he received the Aleksander Reksza Boxing Award.

In his later years he became a politician representing various parties over the time. In 2001, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance for electoral district of Warsaw he became a member of the Polish parliament and server to 2005. He was a boxing commentator for Polish TV station Polsat Sport.

In December 2011, he suffered a massive heart attack.