Tears of emotion from a Polish woman at the Olympic finish line. She went to the Olympics thanks to her family
Eliza Rucka-Michałek took 8th place in the 50 km ski race at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The story of the Polish representative’s last years is like a movie script.
Although Eliza Rucka-Michałek had the best result among the Polish national cross-country ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in mid-January 2026 she organized… a collection for the preparation camp before the games.
Thanks to the support – primarily from her family – the Pole managed to overcome adversity and went to the Olympics. And she took a fantastic 8th place in the “royal” distance of 50 km.
Eliza Rucka-Michałek and her extraordinary story. Huge problems before the Olympics
It’s hard to believe that the Pole actually… resumed her sports career in the 2024/25 season. Rucka-Michałek returned to running after three years. The athlete had to deal with huge health problems (vasovagal syndrome). Example? The Pole fainted on the route during her World Cup debut in January 2020.
However, after conducting a number of tests (Rucka-Michałek was banned from training and competing in 2021), the doctors gave the green light for the Pole to resume her career. The runner is also a happy mother of two children, and her coach is her husband Mikołaj Michałek from the MKS Istebna club.
Why did Rucka-Michałek have to organize a collection just before Winter Winter 2026? She needed financing for a high-altitude camp that was to prepare her for her Olympic debut. Why was there no money from the Polish Ski Association? The Polish woman went against the grain, deciding to work on her own terms and cover the costs together with her husband and the support of local companies.
As it turned out, training on your own, and not at the training camp of the A team under the direction of the Polish Football Association, brought success in life. Which shows that one way does not always have to be the only right one. It is also worth adding that Rucka-Michałek trained in the past (2018-21) in the team led by Justyna Kowalczyk-Tekieli and Aleksander Wierietielny.
She recalled this at the finish line in Italy, thanking them for their contribution to her career.
– I think that coach Aleksander Wierietelny and Justyna Kowalczyk-Tekieli are definitely people who taught me hard work. And I owe them a lot. I owe it to my husband, who is my coach. Who devoted a whole year to me, money and children who must have been without their mother somewhere at home. And family – said the Pole after her success on the Winter Olympics 2026 tour.
Rucka-Michałek did not hide her tears in a conversation with Michał Korościel in front of the Eurosport camera.
Let’s add that the Pole was born in 2000, so she still has a lot of career ahead of her, as long as she finds understanding for a slightly different, alternative – but bringing specific results – sports path.
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.
