Marek Galiński

Marek Galiński (1 August 1974 – 17 March 2014) was a Polish professional mountain biker. Throughout his sporting career, he has won eight Polish national championship titles and a silver medal in men's cross-country racing at the 2003 UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany. Galinski also represented his nation Poland in four editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008), where he competed in men's mountain biking since it officially became an Olympic sport in 1996. Galinski raced professionally for more than five seasons on the JBG2 Professional MTB Team.

On 17 March 2014 he died in a car accident near Jędrzejów.

Racing career

Galinski officially made his international debut for Poland at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he finished twenty-ninth in the inaugural men's cross-country race with a time of 2:45:54.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Galinski further excelled his cross-country ride from Atlanta with a twenty-first place effort in the same program, posting an official time of 2:17:35.

In 2001, Galinski turned himself into an elite professional rider by signing an exclusive sponsorship contract with Lotto-PZU cycling team, followed by short stints on the CCC Polsat and Club Deportivo Orbea MTB teams. He later flourished his early career highlight by earning a silver medal at the UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany, trailing behind leader and Swiss rider Christoph Sauser by eleven seconds.

While competing for his third Polish squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Galinski scored a career-high, fourteenth place in the men's cross-country race with a time of 2:22:14, edging out Austria's Christoph Soukup on the final lap by a 36-second limit. In that same year, Galinski grabbed his first ever Polish national championship title in men's mountain biking, and mounted a top-five finish at the UCI World Championships in Les Gets, France.

Twelve years after his official Olympic debut, Galinski qualified for his fourth Polish squad, as a 34-year-old and the nation's cycling team captain, in the men's cross-country race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth for his team from the Polish Cycling Federation (Polish: Polski Związek Kolarski) and International Cycling Union (UCI), based on his best performance at the World Cup series, World Championships, and Mountain Biking World Series. Galinski lost a spirited challenge against Great Britain's Oliver Beckingsale, but managed to pick up a thirteenth spot to complete a 4.8-km sturdy, treacherous cross-country course in 2:01:29, recording the highest position in his entire Olympic career.

Career achievements

1996

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cyclo-cross, U23), Nowogard (POL)
• 29th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Atlanta, Georgia, (USA)

1998

• 3rd Polish MTB Championships (Cyclo-cross), Ełk (POL)

2000

• 2nd Stage 6, Bałtyk–Karkonosze Tour, Jelenia Góra (POL)
• 3rd Stage 5, Tour of Macedonia, Strumica (MKD)
• 21st Olympic Games (Cross-country), Sydney, (AUS)
• 25th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Sierra Nevada, (ESP)

2002

• 14th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Kaprun, (AUT)

2003

• 9th Overall, UCI World Cup (Cross-country) Stage 2, Sankt Wendel (GER)

2004

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)
• 5th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Les Gets, (FRA)
• 14th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Athens, (GRE)

2005

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Olsztyn (POL)
• 11th Stage 1, UCI World Cup (Cross-country), Spa Francorchamps (BEL)

2006

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Wałbrzych (POL)
• 8th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Livigno, (ITA)

2007

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Szczawno-Zdrój (POL)

2008

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)
• 13th Olympic Games (Cross-country), Beijing (CHN)
• 17th UCI World Championships (Cross-country), Val di Sole (ITA)

2009

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Kielce (POL)

2010

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Wałbrzych (POL)

2011

• 1st Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Poland

2012

• 2nd Polish MTB Championships (Cross-country), Poland