Polish hope for a better future. It is worth appreciating this Olympic effort

As is usually the case, some people see the glass half full, while others see it as half empty. This is also the case with Polish women and men taking part in the Olympic Games. It seems that some will be dissatisfied – regardless of the final results. On the other hand, excessive optimism also cannot obscure the problems that athletes have to deal with on a daily basis.

An example that we have mentioned many times in WPROST is the Polish national figure skating team. Led by their frontwoman, Katia Kurakova. A soloist who, although she did not improve her great result from the Winter Winter Olympics 2022 (11th place among soloists), is an advertisement for a positive approach to sport. And a message that can only attract people to it.

If you don’t want to look far, just look at social media, specifically the account of the president of the Polish Figure Skating Association. Magdalena Tascher shows what a “yes” sport is – despite the wind often blowing in your eyes.

Games that give hope for the future. It was close to the record!

There is no denying that there were many results that could be considered “a hair away” from the Olympic podium. Damian Żurek, a speed skater, was fourth twice – at distances of 500 and 1000 meters. In the longer distances it took 0.07 – and the shorter distances – 0.09 seconds to the medal, which is actually less than the blink of an eye.

In the context of speed skating, Kaja Ziomek-Nogal was also close to the medal, at a distance of 500 m, exactly 0.12 seconds from luck. Although 6th place still looked very solid.

Maryna Gąsienica-Daniel, the best Polish alpine skier, finished the giant slalom in 7th place, 0.13 seconds behind the medal. The biathletes in the relay finished sixth, a record-breaking sixth place in the history of Poland’s starts at the Winter Olympics. Individually, Kamila Żuk was eighth in the sprint, and Joanna Jakiła was 11th in the mass start race.

Remaining on skis, Dominik Bury was 12th during the “royal” distance, i.e. the 50 km run, thus achieving the best result of a Pole in this competition in the history of the Winter Olympics. Eliza Rucka-Michałek performed even better. The Pole was also close to a medal in the 50 km, ultimately achieving a great 8th place.

In his Olympic debut, Felix Pigeon achieved the best result in the history of Polish competitions in the short track, finishing the 500-meter competition in 8th place. Another debutant, Michał Niewiński, also reached the B final, over a distance of 1000 m. The Pole was 9th.

In addition, two Polish women – Nikola Domowicz and Dominika Piwkowska – recorded a great result in the luge. The Olympic debutants on their famous nine-year-old sleds reached the finish line as the sixth duo of the Olympic Games.

It is also worth noting that Poland is in the top ten of the discipline that debuted at the Winter Olympics. In high-mountain skiing (ski mountaineering), the mixed relay team consisting of Iwona Januszyk and Jan Elantkowski took 9th place in the group.

Winter Winter 2026: Four Olympic medals for the Polish team

The Games on the Apennine Peninsula were quite successful for the Polish team. Looking at the medal achievements, this is the best performance of the Olympic team in red and white colors in over 12 years.

Medals for the Polish national team during the 2026 Winter Olympics were won mainly by ski jumpers. One of them, a 19-year-old Olympic debutant – Kacper Tomasiak – won three of them. The leader of coach Maciej Maciusiak’s team was silver on the normal hill, bronze on the large hill in Predazzo and again the Olympic vice-champion in the duet competition. In the latter case, Paweł Wąsek formed a two-person team with Tomasiak.

We also cannot forget about the first medal for Polish men at the Winter Olympics since 2014. Vladimir Semirunniy reached for it. “Władek” became the Olympic vice-champion in the 10 km distance.

In its history of participation in the Winter Olympics, the Polish team has won a total of 27 medals – seven gold, ten silver and ten bronze, respectively. Interestingly, the first bronze medal for Poland was won by Franciszek Gąsienica-Groń (Nordic combined) almost exactly 70 years ago, during the Olympic Games in… Cortina d’Ampezzo. This year, history has come full circle in a beautiful Italian-Polish Olympic circle.

Speaking of history, another special story happened during Winter Olympics 2026. Namely, Klaudia Adamek was the first in the history of Polish Olympism to take part in both the summer and winter games. A former athlete and participant of the Olympic Games in Tokyo (2021) in the 4×100 meters relay, she completed the Olympic set by starting in Italy (2026) in the bobsled doubles.