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Unia Tarnów (motorcycle speedway)

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Unia Tarnów
Club information
Track addressStadion Miejski w Tarnowie
Tarnów, Poland
CountryPoland
Founded1957
Team managerTomasz Proszowski
League2. Liga
WebsiteOfficial Website
Club facts
ColoursWhite and Blue
NicknameSwallows
Track record time67.49 seconds
Track record date8 June 2014
Track record holderGreg Hancock
Major team honours
Team Polish Champions2004, 2005, 2012
Pairs Polish Champion2007, 2013
Individual Polish Champion1967, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013
silver medal1994
bronze medal2013, 2014, 2015

Unia Tarnów is a Polish motorcycle speedway club from Tarnów in Poland.[1] The team compete in the Polish Speedway Second League (2. Liga).[2] and have won the Team Speedway Polish Championship three times.[3]

History

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Tarnów Municipal Stadium

1957 to 1989

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The club was founded 1957 as a section of a multi-sports club of the same name, which was founded in 1928. It would not be until 2001 that the club became a separate entity but retained the same historic name.[4]

The first honour was winning the second division in 1963.[5] Zygmunt Pytko later became the Polish champion in 1967.[6]

The team spent most of the 1970s and 1980s either battling relegation in the first division or challenging promotion in the second division but in general there was little in the way of success.

1990 to 1999

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The club gained promotion in 1990[7] and made a statement of intent in 1994 by signing one of the world's leading riders Tony Rickardsson. The impact was instant and they won a silver medal in the Polish Championship.[8] However, not even Rickardsson could save them from relegation in 1996.[9]

2000 to 2015

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the team in 2007

When the Ekstraliga was introduced in 2000, the team were competing in the 2. Liga[10] but in 2001 the sealed promotion and began to build in form.[11]

Janusz Kołodziej and Tomasz Gollob were signed and Rickardsson returned for the 2004 Polish speedway season.[12] The team won the gold medal for the first time in their history and then successfully defended their title in 2005. Three Unia riders became consecutive Polish champions, Kołodziej was champion in 2005, Gollob in 2006 and Rune Holta in 2007. Gollob and Holta also won the 2007 pairs championship.

Further success came from 2012 to 2016 as the club won the gold medal in 2012, the pairs in 2013 and three consecutive bronze medals in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Maciej Janowski also won the 2013 Golden Helmet.

2016 to present

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Since 2015, the team have experienced mediocrity with just one 1.Liga title success in 2017.

Teams

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2023 team

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Previous teams

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Notable riders

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Honours

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Team Polish Champions

  • Gold: 3 (2004, 2005, 2012)
  • Silver: 1 (1994)
  • Bronze: 2 (2013, 2014)

Pair Polish Champion

  • Gold: 2 (2007, 2013)
  • Silver: 2 (2004, 2009)

Individual Polish Champion

  • Gold: 5 (1967, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013)
  • Silver: 3 (2005, 2007, 2010)
  • Bronze: 3 (2005, 2009, 2013)

References

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  1. ^ Media, Wirtualna Polska. "Unia Tarnów - WP SportoweFakty". sportowefakty.wp.pl.
  2. ^ "Speedway from Around the Globe - Poland PGE Ekstraliga". Speedway Star. 10 September 2022. p. 42.
  3. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  4. ^ Historia speedway’a w Polsce (in Polish), speedwayw.pl
  5. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 1963". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  6. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 101. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  7. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 1990". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 1994". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 1996". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Historia Drużynowych Mistrzostw Polski". Zuzeland.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 2001". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Tarnow team stats". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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