Piotr Markiewicz

Piotr Markiewicz (born September 23, 1973 in Sejny, Podlaskie) is a Polish sprint canoeist who competed from the early 1990s to the early 2000s (decade). At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he won the bronze medal in the K-1 500 m event. Known for his devastating sprint finish, Markiewicz won his first national champion 1993. Initially representing in the K-4 event, he won two medals in the K-4 events at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with silvers in 1993 (K-4 10000 m) and 1994 (K-4 1000 m). Markiewicz's personality better suited him to the individual K-1 events where he won the K-1 200 m and K-1 500 m events at the 1995 As reigning world champion, he went to the 1996 Games as favorite in the K-1 500 m event, but did not live up to expectations. Markiewicz ended up settling for bronze in the K-1 500 m event after finishing fourth in the K-4 1000 m event. After the Olympics, he won his last medal in 1999 with a silver medal in the K-4 200 m event. Markiewicz retired in 2001 after a car accident. Markiewicz was a member of the Sparta Augustów club. He is 184 cm (6'0") tall and raced at 84 kg (185 lbs). For his sport achievements, he received: Silver Cross of Merit in 1996.