Poland has sent a record-breaking 96 people to the European Athletics Championships in Rome and is targeting a double-digit medal tally in the event that kicks off on Friday.
Featuring 52 women and 44 men, the squad includes 400 meter specialist Natalia Kaczmarek and the country’s top sprinter, Ewa Swoboda.
Also included in the team are previous European gold medalists such as hurdler Pia Skrzyszowska and hammer thrower Wojciech Nowicki.
At the previous championships in Munich, Poland came away with a fourteen medal haul: three gold, six silver, and five bronze.
This time around, a slightly more modest number is expected, with Natalia Kaczmarek, Wojciech Nowicki, and Pia Skrzyszowska all tipped for podium places.
"I think that a double-digit number of medalists is kind of the limit,” said Tomasz Spodenkiewicz of Athletic News. “Anything over that would be good, but anything below would be disappointing.”
He added: “We’ve only had one month of the summer season and not many starts; Poles have mainly competed in-country, and weather conditions have varied, so it’s difficult to make accurate predictions.”
Starting tomorrow and running until June 12, the championships naturally stand to be overshadowed by the Olympics; however, pundits still expect a top-quality event. “It will be an interesting and high-level championship,” said Spodenkiewicz.
“It is not the most important event of the season, and there’s been some withdrawals, but five European athletes ranked the best in the world will take part,” he added.
Also included in the team are previous European gold medalists such as hurdler Pia Skrzyszowska and hammer thrower Wojciech Nowicki.
At the previous championships in Munich, Poland came away with a fourteen medal haul: three gold, six silver, and five bronze.
This time around, a slightly more modest number is expected, with Natalia Kaczmarek, Wojciech Nowicki, and Pia Skrzyszowska all tipped for podium places.
"I think that a double-digit number of medalists is kind of the limit,” said Tomasz Spodenkiewicz of Athletic News. “Anything over that would be good, but anything below would be disappointing.”
He added: “We’ve only had one month of the summer season and not many starts; Poles have mainly competed in-country, and weather conditions have varied, so it’s difficult to make accurate predictions.”
Starting tomorrow and running until June 12, the championships naturally stand to be overshadowed by the Olympics; however, pundits still expect a top-quality event. “It will be an interesting and high-level championship,” said Spodenkiewicz.
“It is not the most important event of the season, and there’s been some withdrawals, but five European athletes ranked the best in the world will take part,” he added.
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