Bogdan Kowalczyk

Bogdan Kowalczyk (born 12 August 1946) is a former Polish handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and then became a handball coach; he coached the Iceland men's national handball team to victory in the 1989 World Men's Handball Championship of B teams and was later coach of the Polish national team. He is widely considered to be a major influence on the development of handball in Iceland.

Playing career Kowalczyk was born in Warsaw. He began his career as a handball player with Warszawianka in 1961, where he was on the team that won the Polish Junior Championships in 1964. From 1965 to 1968 he played for KS Warszawianka and from 1968 to 1978 for Śląsk Wrocław in Wrocław, where he was on the teams that won the second division of the Polish Handball League in 1969–1971 and won the Polish Superliga championship every year from 1972 to 1978.

He played 43 times for the Polish national team, first appearing in an international friendly game on 6 December 1964 and making his last appearance against Norway on 9 September 1972.

Coaching career In 1970 Kowalczyk graduated from the University of Wrocław with a master's degree in physical education. leading them to national league championships in 1980–1983.