From Hell to Heaven! Disqualification in the Polish relay race at the European Championships

The Poles ran in the following squad: Remigiusz Zazula, Wiktor Wróbel, Marcin Karolewski and Kajetan Duszyński. The Polish relay team achieved a time of 3:01.33. Which, admittedly, is a really solid result. In the elimination race, this gave me the number 4 place.

Initially, however, it seemed that the final result would be 2 (!) hundredths of a second short of happiness. Ultimately, however, the French relay team was disqualified, so the Poles will run in the final.

Interestingly, the Poles found out that they had advanced to the finals… during an interview for TVP Sport.

Let us add that the Poles ran without the current best 400-meter runner, Maksymilian Szwed. The Pole has already performed at the European Championship 2026 in the 4×400 m mixed relay race (fourth place) and individually – in the 400 m final, taking sixth place.

However, the Swede did not participate in Friday’s (August 14) qualifying race due to minor discomfort that had to be attended to by doctors. Perhaps the athlete will strengthen his relay teammates for the final.

Athletics European Championship for the Polish national team. In two years in Chorzów!

The Polish athletics team has been participating in the Old Continent championship since its first edition. That is, since 1934, when the competition was held at the Mussolini stadium in Turin.

Only men took part in the competition held in 1934. However, the first championship for women was held in 1938 in Vienna, and both sexes have been competing together since the event in Oslo in 1946.

How have Polish women and men presented themselves over the years? The most medals, as many as 10, were won by the late legend – Irena Szewińska – in sprinting and long jump. Second in this respect is Anita Włodarczyk (hammer throw), with five medals (four gold and one bronze).

Interestingly, the two best performances (in terms of medals won) in the history of athletics were recorded by ME Poland… exactly 60 years ago – during the event in Budapest (1966) and just four years ago, at the event in Munich (2022). There were 15 medals won on Hungarian soil, and in the capital of Bavaria the Polish national team had a total of 14 medals.

And in just two years, the European Athletics Championships will be held in Chorzów, at the legendary Silesian Stadium.

The European Athletics Championship 2026 will last until Sunday (i.e. August 16) inclusive. Broadcasts from the event can be followed on TVP1, TVP2 and TVP Sport.