The Polish Olympic Committee president did not bite his tongue. “There would be no Polish Olympic team”

In recent weeks, the situation related to money, or rather its outflow, towards one of the sponsors of the Polish Olympic Committee has received wide attention. The Polsat Plus Group decided to resign from cooperation with the organization headed by President Radosław Piesiewicz.

A big question mark then came into question… bonuses for Polish Olympic athletes, which were to be budgeted from funds from the Polsat Plus Group.

Radosław Piesiewicz strongly on TV Republika. This is how he presented the reality of the Polish Olympic Committee

However, as it turned out, a few days later a solution came that did not harm the most important ones – i.e. those representing Poland during the Winter Olympics 2026. Plus and Telewizja Polsat – without any cooperation with the Polish Olympic Committee – appropriately rewarded those who shone the brightest during the event on the Apennine Peninsula. Thus, the former sponsor turned a blind eye to the organization led by President Piesiewicz.

Interestingly, in the background there may be a future fight over who will lead the Polish Olympic Committee. It is no secret that in the case of the Polsat Plus Group and its connection with sports, the cards are dealt by the station’s long-time director, Marian Kmita. Kmita and Piesiewicz parted ways some time ago, and this may be one of the consequences of the clash between the gentlemen.

The head of the Polish Olympic Committee was a guest on TV Republika on Thursday (March 19). In a conversation with Michał Rachoń, he shared the reality of how he sees the current cooperation of the Olympic movement with the national authorities.

– There is no cooperation, you have to tell yourself this. The Polish state does not subsidize or help the Polish Olympic Committee (…) we are financed only by private companies, by private sponsors, by donors, for which I thank them very much, because without them there would be no Polish Olympic team at the Olympic Games, for example in Milan, Piesiewicz said on TV Republika.

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.