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Hall Of Fame:
Marian Jankowski - Poland

The late Marian Jankowski was inducted at the 2008 World Championship in Warnemünde, Germany. His daughters Anna and Magda accepted the award on behalf of Marian.

He was among the first OK sailors in Poland and the first National Champion in 1964 and competing untill short before he passed away in 2002

Darek Kras, OKDIA Vice-President Northern Hemipshere spoke about the late Marian Jankowski.

"Marian was fully devoted to the OK Dinghy class. In fact, if it was not for him, there would probably not be any Poles sailing here in Germany this week.

We all owe him for attracting us to the OK. He was among the first OK sailors in Poland and the first National Champion. He first won the title back in 1964 and continued to dominate the Polish circuit for many years.

His devotion to the class was demonstrated in many ways. He always had time and energy to encourage new sailors to the OK, help them to obtain gear and tune it.

When it was decided that the OK Dinghy was no longer to be a preparatory junior class for the Finn, its existence in Poland was threatened. Luckily, we had Marian. He made sure that whatever gear was in Poland, would be safely put in the hands of those who really needed it.

Perhaps his best idea was to attract to the class guys like myself - those who sailed when young and thought of getting back to sailing.

He had many friends, sailing friends, like Norbert [Petrausch from Germany] here. And with their help he helped us get our boats.

Back in the 1980s living in Poland was not easy, and importing gear from the West a big task which required a lot of persistence.

He took us to regattas in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden and had seemingly endless reserves of energy and enthusiasm for the sport.

He died a few years ago from heart complications, and the OK class in Poland suffered a huge loss, one that we still feel today."

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