The achievements of Polish athletes do not always go hand in hand with how they are perceived. The most liked athletes are: Adam Małysz, Kamil Stoch, Anita Włodarczyk, Sławomir Szmal and Karol Bielecki.

The less liked and most controversial include Jerzy Janowicz and Artur Szpilka. Despite ending his sports career, Adam Małysz remains an icon of Polish sport, while Robert Lewandowski is most appreciated for his achievements. Volleyball players, unlike footballers, are perceived as a team rather than as individuals – according to a study by ARC Rynek i Opinia.

The aim of the "TOP 50 Polish Athletes" study was to learn how Poles perceive the most popular Polish athletes and to examine the relationship between their recognition, assessment of sporting achievements and liking for individual athletes. The results show that there is a whole group of athletes who, although they fare worse on the recognition dimension, gain in deeper analysis on the emotional dimension.

Main conclusions:

  • The top Polish athletes (recognition, assessment of achievements and liking), in the opinion of Poles, are: Adam Małysz, Robert Lewandowski, Kamil Stoch, Justyna Kowalczyk and Anita Włodarczyk
  • In the overall ranking, there is no representative of volleyball – one of the three most popular disciplines among Poles – in the top twenty
  • As many as 10 places in the top twenty of the overall ranking are taken by representatives of football
  • In terms of sporting achievements, Robert Lewandowski is rated the highest
  • Krzysztof Hołowczyc is considered the most intelligent athlete
  • The undisputed "king of good humour" is Piotr Żyła
  • The most attractive athletes are considered to be: Michał Winiarski – by women, and Agnieszka Radwańska – by men
  • Jerzy Janowicz and Artur Szpilka stir the most controversy

 

Perception of athletes vs. achievements

The study results show that not only sporting achievements influence athletes' position in the eyes of audiences, but also the type of discipline practised, as well as the level of liking for individual people. It is much easier to be remembered by audiences as an athlete practising an individual discipline than a team one. In the case of a team discipline, in order to become established in the audience's awareness, one must not only have outstanding skills, but also be as present in the media as possible. This is clearly visible in the example of football and volleyball. Both disciplines are among the most popular in Poland, and the volleyball national team has many achievements to its name. However, while footballers are very strongly represented in the TOP 50 ranking, volleyball players are very modestly represented – the first of them, Bartosz Kurek, takes 21st place.

 

Footballers versus volleyball players

So while footballers are more often perceived as individuals, volleyball players are perceived to a greater extent as a team. This reflects well on the sport itself, but makes using these athletes in brand communication more difficult and requires thought, though it can be very effective. If a brand wanted to emphasise in its communication the need for teamwork, cooperation and fair play, volleyball players could prove much better than, for example, representatives of football.

Overall ranking of Polish athletes (TOP 10)

(recognition, assessment of achievements, liking), score scale from 0 to 100

Source: TOP 50 Polish Athletes Report, ARC Rynek i Opinia, September 2017

Information about the study

The study was carried out by ARC Rynek i Opinia using the CAWI method (online surveys on epanel.pl) on a sample of N=900 people aged 15-54 – a sample representative in terms of gender and age. Respondents rated 71 athletes currently active as well as those who had ended their careers within the last 5 years.

Areas studied

  • Recognition of athletes
  • Assessment of sporting achievements
  • Liking
  • Image attributes

Information on how the rankings were created:

  • The TOP 50 Polish Athletes ranking was created based on recognition, assessment of sporting achievements and liking of athletes (equal weight for each question)
  • Detailed rankings included:
    • recognition of athletes
    • assessment of sporting achievements
    • level of liking for athletes
    • image attributes



ARC Rynek i Opinia has been conducting marketing research and public opinion polls for 25 years and has a permanent place among the best research institutes in Poland. Thanks to its membership in the largest international network of independent research agencies – IriS – it carries out research projects in Europe and around the world. The ARC Rynek i Opinia Institute holds the PKJPA quality certificate for the work of interviewers, and all studies are carried out in accordance with ESOMAR standards. http://www.arc.com.pl

Summary

The TOP 50 Polish Athletes ranking shows that not only the assessment of achievements is key, but also liking and the type of discipline. Individual competitors, such as Adam Małysz or Robert Lewandowski, dominate Poles' awareness, while volleyball players, despite the team's successes, are perceived as a collective. This means that using them in brand communication requires a different approach. Interestingly, it is Bartosz Kurek, as the first volleyball player, who takes only 21st place, and the top twenty lacks representatives of one of the three most popular disciplines in Poland.