Halina Konopacka

Halina Konopacka was a Polish athlete and poet. She was born in 1900 in Rawa Mazowiecka, Poland, and grew up in Warsaw, where she excelled in various sports, especially discus throw. She set three world records in discus throw and won the gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, becoming the first Polish Olympic champion. She also won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the Women's World Games in 1926 and 1930. She retired from athletics in 1931 and pursued a literary career, writing poetry and essays. She married Ignacy Matuszewski, a politician and journalist, and lived in Warsaw until the outbreak of World War II. She escaped to France and then to the United States, where she settled in Daytona Beach, Florida. She died there in 1989 at the age of 88. She was honored with the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish decoration, and inducted into the Polish Sports Hall of Fame.