He was a real star of the pools. Not just the ones in the capital. In the early 1930s, Roman Kazimierz Bocheński was regarded as one of the best swimmers in Europe. His career was brutally interrupted by the war. And his life ended in the Katyn forest.

"However, the Polish national team was the most popular in Monaco. The reason for this popularity was not only Poland's alliance with Western countries, but also the adventures our academics went through on their way to Monaco," reported the weekly Raz, Dwa, Trzy in its last pre-war issue.

"Nothing to know "
It was the second half of August 1939, and the Polish national team was leaving for the academic world championships in Monte Carlo. It was not known until the last moment whether the red and white would go to the competition, as the political situation in Europe was extremely tense. In the end, the athletes competed for a while, but on 28 August 1939, after persuasion from the Polish diplomatic mission in Nice, the expedition ordered a return to their homeland. War hung in the air. Every pair of hands counted in battle.

Among those returning, by a circuitous route through Italy, Yugoslavia and Romania, was Roman Kazimierz Bocheński. There was no better swimmer in Poland between the wars. At the station in Monte Carlo, like other athletes, he was bid farewell like a hero. At one point he even composed the words of a farewell song. Its refrain was:

"Nothing is known, nothing is known, nothing is known. No, ah, no".

The train moved on. On 2 September 1939, Bocheński and 24 other athletes crossed the Polish-Romanian border at Zaleszczyki. He was then sent to the front, although his exact wartime fate is not known. After 1945, no one ever heard from him again. Many wondered where the pre-war star of European swimming had gone. The book Glory to the Olympians, published in 1968, i.e. during the communist era, stated that he "died in the turmoil of war, like thousands of others whose graves were never found". In 1945. "Kurier Sportowy", describing the situation in Polish swimming, wrote about Bocheński:

"He continued to compete long into the war itself. What happens to him now - is unknown. He was the one who contributed to the upbringing of a whole plethora of young Polish swimmers who looked up to his peak achievements".

At the time, no one spoke loudly and officially about the Katyn massacre. It was not until nearly three decades later that it emerged that Bocheński had been taken prisoner by the Soviets and then imprisoned in the prisoner of war camp at Starobielsk. From there, the NKVD took him to Kharkiv, where he was shot in the spring of 1940. This is how an extraordinary sporting talent made his living. A role model and idol of pre-war youth.

A swimming pearl
Roman Kazimierz Bocheński was born on 12 May 1910 in Glinianka, a village near Otwock, to Roman and Helena. In 1928, he graduated from the State Railway Technical Secondary School in Warsaw. He also joined the ranks of the capital's AZS.

"Bocheński's sporting career was as dizzying as one rarely encounters in Europe. It reminds us of those American aces about whom one year one knows nothing, and who the next year reach for Weissmuller laurels. Bocheński joined AZS last year at the age of 18. He knew nothing about crawling, but proved to be quite skilful. He immediately became one of the many "promising" juniors of AZS", wrote Przegląd Sportowy at the end of November 1929.

Indeed, Roman Kazimierz's sporting achievements could command respect, all the more so because Poland was not then among the European swimming elite. Bocheński was bringing it into the salons. He dominated the country for a very long time. He was the Polish champion seventeen times, and was particularly fond of freestyle (eleven titles).

His greatest popularity came from his series of national records. Also impressive was the speed with which he improved his results, for example in the 100 metres freestyle. In mid-November 1930, he achieved a time of 1:00.4 over this distance, which was the third fastest time in Europe. This result sent the fans into ecstasy. The press wrote about the then student of the College of Commerce and Consular in Ghent, Belgium. The editor of the newspaper La Nation belge, as soon as he learned of the Pole's feat, wrote thus:

"This pearl of swimming, not only of Poland but also of the world, has risen above the whole crowd of competitors. Apart from Taris, who is not at all attracted by the hundred metres, and Barany, we see no opponents for him. The last result, already extraordinary, is rather only a stepping stone to the world record. We don't suppose that there is another such phenomenally gifted swimmer on the globe".

At the time, he was able to swim the 400 metres freestyle in 5:17.4, with only four swimmers on the Old Continent doing it faster. In 1931, he returned from his studies in Belgium. He settled in Warsaw. He was a casual sports journalist, running the swimming section of the weekly "Sport Wodny". He also worked as a clerk. He trained in the AZS and "Delfin".

In 1936 he went to the Olympic Games in Berlin. He was a member of the 4x200 metre relay team, which competed in an unlucky qualifying run on 10 August 1936. Why unlucky? Because the Poles were disqualified after Joachim Karliczek made a false start on the last shift. Roman Kazimierz performed poorly that day. A day later, the "Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny" reported in its report:

"Bocheński is fourth after the first 100m in a time of 1:07.5 behind America, England, Hungary, and ahead of an Austrian, a Dane and a Luxembourger. In the second 100m Bocheński starts to falter unexpectedly. He swims harder and eventually allows himself to be overtaken by the Dane and Austrjak, achieving a very poor time."

By 1939 he is competing in swimming and water polo events. Before leaving for the academic world championships in Monaco, he showed high form in a meet against the Finns. He also looked good in Monte Carlo but, carried away by his patriotic stance, returned to defend Poland. Then there was Katyn and years of investigating the truth about that crime. A crime of which he was a victim.