| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | 200m Butterfly | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 2:06.05 |
| 2 | 400m Freestyle | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 4:05.84 |
| 2 | 100m Butterfly | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 57.84 |
| 4 | 200m Butterfly | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 2:07.02 |
| 5 | 200m Butterfly | 2000 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | 2:08.48 |
| Semifinal | 100m Butterfly | 2000 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | 59.14 |
| Heats | 400m Freestyle | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 4:05.50 |
| Heats | 100m Butterfly | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 58.53 |
| Heats | 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 2000 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | 200m Butterfly | 2005 | Montreal, QC, CAN | 2:05.61 |
| 1 | 200m Butterfly | 2003 | Barcelona, ESP | 2:07.56 |
| 2 | 400m Freestyle | 2007 | Melbourne, VIC, AUS | 4:04.23 |
| 2 | 100m Butterfly | 2003 | Barcelona, ESP | 58.22 |
| 2 | 100m Butterfly | 2001 | Fukuoka, JPN | 58.72 |
| 3 | 200m Butterfly | 2007 | Melbourne, VIC, AUS | 2:06.90 |
| 3 | 100m Butterfly | 2005 | Montreal, QC, CAN | 58.57 |
| Semifinal | 200m Butterfly | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 2:09.27 |
| Heats | 100m Butterfly | 2011 | Shanghai, CHN | 59.00 |
Nickname
Oti or Motylia, because Motyl means butterfly in Polish. (Otylia Jedrzejczak web, 21 Jun 2005)
Education
Physical Education - Academy of Physical Education, Warsaw, POL
Language(s) spoken
English
Club name
AZS AWF, Warsaw, POL
Coach
Bartosz Kizierowski from 2011 (londyn2012.dziennik.pl, 18 May 2012)
Handedness
Right (NOC, 12 May 2004)
Injuries
In October 2005, she suffered head and spinal injuries in a car accident in which her brother was killed. She spent six weeks in hospital recovering from her injuries. (ABC, 28 Jun 2006; Swim News, 05 Jan 2007)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
She first started swimming at the age of six in Poland and started serious swimming lessons when she was in secondary school. (NOC, 12 May 2004; otylia.friko.pl, 01 Feb 2007)
Reason for taking up this sport
Her parents introduced her to the sport. (Athlete, 21 Jul 2000)
Ambitions
After finishing her career she would like to work in the media or PR. (WCH Media Guide, 22 Mar 2007)
Training
She trains twice a day from Monday to Friday. (londyn2012.dziennik.pl, 18 May 2012)
Hero
Pope John Paul II. (NOC, 12 May 2004)
Most influential person in career
Her parents. (NOC, 12 May 2004)
Superstitions / Rituals
In the heats she likes to wear a white swimming cap and in the finals she wears a red cap. (NOC, 12 May 2004)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"The world is a small nutshell in which we try to fulfil our dreams. If I can bring help to enable others to look forward to the next day then I am satisfied." (Timed Finals, 08 Aug 2006)
Awards
She was named as one of Time magazine's European Heroes of 2004. (Timed Finals, 08 Aug 2006)
She came second in the voting for Poland's 2002 and 2003 Sportsperson of the Year awards. (NOC, 12 May 2004)
General
TRAGIC ACCIDENT
In October 2005, she was involved in a road accident in which her 19-year-old brother Szymon was killed. The car she was driving, in which Szymon was a passenger, left the road and hit a tree. She suffered head and spinal injuries in the crash and spent two months away from the sport before returning to win a gold medal at the 2006 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. She went on trial in February 2007 over the accident, charged with unintentionally causing the crash that killed her brother and faced a possible eight-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. In March 2007, the district court of Plonsk ordered her to do 30 hours of community service a month, for the next nine months and stripped her of her driving licence for one year. She did not attend court for the verdict as she was in Melbourne, Australia, preparing for the 2007 World Championships. (Swim News, 06 Jan 2007; International Herald Tribune, 21 Feb 2007; AFP, 22 Mar 2007)
GOLD MEDAL AUCTION
She auctioned off her 2004 Olympic Games gold medal for $US80,000, to raise money for children suffering from leukaemia. She was inspired to help children with leukaemia after reading a novel by Eric Emmanuel Schmitt called Oscar and the Lady in Pink prior to the Games. The book is about a boy who died from the disease and she vowed that if she won gold she would auction the medal for the cause. Many people questioned her decision to sell the medal and whether or not she would regret the decision in years to come. "I don't need the medal to remember," she said. "I know I'm the Olympic champion. That's in my heart." The Polish State Mint made sure she didn't remain empty handed however and presented her with a solid gold replica. (Time, 02 Oct 2004; AP, 20 Dec 2004)
HEROES WELCOME
Her gold medal in the 200m butterfly at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens was the first by a Polish swimmer at a Games. It was the first time a Polish swimmer had won any Olympic medal in 12 years. She returned to Poland as a national hero and thousands of fans filled the streets of Ruda Slaska, a small coal mining town in southern Poland, to welcome her back. Her fans even renamed the Athens Olimpiada [Polish for Olympics], the 'Otyliada' in recognition of her achievement. (Time Europe, 11 Oct 2004)
DISQUALIFIED
After winning a silver medal in the 100m butterfly, she was disqualified during the heats of the 200m event at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, after swallowing a mouthful of water and grabbing one of the lane ropes in order to recover. She continued swimming the race but left the pool in tears. (Aus Swim, 21 Oct 2002)
DANCING WITH THE STARS
In 2009 she participated in the Polish edition of Dancing with the Stars, where she danced with Slawomir Turski. Mainly she wanted to distract herself and get some variation in life, but her coach also knew that dancing lessons were good for her muscles and her coordination. She was eliminated in the eighth round. (tanieczgwiazdami.plejada.pl, 12 Jul 2011)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000
