“May the throwing gods be with you” - The life of Bishop Dolegiewicz

Mighty 'Bish' Dolegiewicz releasing the shot at the Bruce Jenner Classic (April 1980).

Zbigniew “Bishop” Dolegiewicz was a Canadian shot putter, discus thrower, strength coach and strongman. At 6ft 6 inches and weighing 140kg, he was a giant of a man.

In 1972 he enrolled at the University of Texas and in his first year proved he was an asset to the institution ranking sixth in the shot put at the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The following year in 1973 he improved his standing to fourth place and earned his first of three All-American honours. By 1975 he had improved to a point where he was able to compete internationally. The same year he won gold at the World University Championships in Rome. This earned him a chance to compete at the Pan American Games held in Mexico City. At the games he won a silver medal with a put of 19.18m, just ten centimetres behind the winning throw of his teammate Bruce Pirnie. In addition to his building accolades in the shot, Bishop was an accomplished discus thrower with a standing throw exceeding two hundred feet he was among the top throwers in the world. He would win the National Championships in the discus in 1975 adding another title to his name.

Dolegiewicz was a three-time Olympian. He was first selected for the team in 1976 after winning the French Athletics Championships in the discus. Despite not qualifying for the finals, Bish was undeterred and immediately began preparations for the 1980 games. The same year he won his first National Championships in the shot, later winning a further four; 1977, ’79, ’82 and ’83. In 1978 he took the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games on home soil in Edmonton. He would go on to achieve his personal best with a put of 20.85m in June ‘78, breaking the Canadian record in the process. The following year in 1979 Bishop took his second National title in the shot with a throw of 20.23m. He was reselected to compete in the Pan American Games that year and took a second silver medal at the event. Throughout his career Bishop was one of the strongest throwers in the world, his training was simple but effective, he focused on periodisation and progressive resistance. He believed that focusing on “the meat and potatoes”, i.e. compound movements, strength and size would follow. His program predominantly consisted of the bench press, squats and a pulling movement, cleans or snatches. (to read more on Bish’s program I will be releasing a post about my own experience of using his training plan in the coming weeks).

In 1980, the Olympic Games were boycotted by many western countries in protest of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Bishop was devastated by the decision of the Canadian Olympic Committee to follow suit and boycott the upcoming games. Like many athletes he had invested a great deal of time and energy into Olympic preparations in the years leading up to the games. It was around this time that he was approached to compete in the World’s Strongest Man competition set to be held at Great Gorge Resort in New Jersey. He did not train prior to the competition as he was on the verge of a world record in the shot and didn’t want to detract from his progress. 

He would have great success in his first WSM appearance, demonstrating prowess in the weight toss event. Despite it being his first time tossing the 56lb block over the bar, he won the event with an astonishing result of 17ft, breaking the world record in the process. He would later recall that the movement mirrored that of a clean, a movement he had included in his training program for a long while. However, later in the competition he pulled two of the heads of his deltoid alongside a portion of his traps during the bar bend event. In defiance of these injuries Bish pushed on and was able to maintain a steady accumulation of points earning him an impressive fourth place finish behind another shot putter, and friend, Geoff Capes of Great Britain.

He returned to the competition the following year in 1981 as per his contract with the organisers. However, he was beginning to suffer from a slew of injuries and placed 10th overall. Following the event his doctors were amazed that he was even able to make the movement of the shot put let alone compete at a high level. They would later go on to include him in medical articles on how the mind can overcome physical injuries despite the odds.

In 1982 he took another Bronze at the Commonwealth Games. In 1984 he was selected to compete for the third time for the Canadian Olympic Team. He would place eleventh overall, the best Olympic result of his career.

During the Dublin inquiry Bishop was one of the only individuals that came out of the inquiry respected because he refused to testify against his friends. Sports illustrated had offered athletes a financial incentive for their story, but Bishop refused to take part in the tattle telling. He stated, “I will not talk about my friends and will only talk about myself”. 

The Canadian Government had promised that nothing would happen to those who testified. Bish admitted that he did participate in taking Dianabol. However, he only used the drug during the period prior to it being banned. He was clean at the time he broke the Canadian record. Bishop was upset the Canadian government had broken their promise and stripped him of his Canadian record by placing a star against his name even though several other marks underneath his fell into the same category.

Dolegiewicz would go onto promote anti-doping. In fact, the only reason he had started using steroids in the first place was because the University of Texas had introduced him to the pharmacist who supplied PED’s to their athletes in his first weeks at the college. At the time, it was commonplace for colleges to recommend their athletes to use steroids. They were seen in the same light as protein powders.

Following his retirement from competition he coached at several universities. He went on to coach Canada’s National Olympic Track and Field Team in addition to coaching the throwers on technical aspects. His knowledge was highly sought after, and he consulted with numerous other sporting organisations on the throws, motivation and strength & conditioning. He coached many successful athletes throughout his career, namely Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson prior to his 100m world record. At the time of his passing, he was coaching at Utah Valley University alongside his loving wife Anna.

Bish was a true gentle giant, a larger-than-life figure, he was loved and admired by many. He devoted innumerable hours to train children and young adults and would often go out of his way to help them even if they were at a competing school. Throughout his competitive career he consistently ranked in the top ten in the world and was among the strongest people on earth, a true testament to his dedication to strength and athleticism. His contribution to the sport will never be forgotten.

RIP Bish, wherever you are “may the throwing gods be with you”…

Best Throws;

Shot Put - 20.85m (17th June 1978)

Discus - 65.32m (16th July 1975)

Overview of Achievements:

• Utilising old school strength programming focusing on periodisation and progressive resistance he was one of the strongest throwers in the world in his prime. He could bench 605lbs.

• As a coach he ranked in the top 10 worldwide for strength.

• He coached as Canada’s Olympic Throws and Strength coach.

• At the time of Ben Johnsons 100m world record, Bish was his S&C coach.

• He coached Para-Olympians after noticing that they were often sidelined from conventional training sessions. Four of his athletes would win medals at the Paralympics.

• Member of three Olympic Teams 1976, 1980, and 1984.

• World University Games in Rome:  1975 -Gold.

• Pan American Games:  1975 & 1979 – Silver.

• Commonwealth Games:  1978 & 1982 Bronze.

• World’s Strongest Man Competition:  1980 (4th) and1981 (10th).

• Canadian National Record Holder - Shot Put.

• Former Commonwealth and National Record Holder – Discus.

• Outstanding Canadian Field Athlete – 1975.

• Four Time All American in Track and Field at the University of Texas.

• National Collegiate Record Holder in Powerlifting.