High class performances with no reward were the order of the day for Poland in the ski jumping and speed skating

Kamil Stoch was in tears after finishing in 4^th place in the ski jumping men’s large hill. The former Olympic champion had saved his best jumps of the Games for today’s event in a bid to defend his previous titles in Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018. Both of Stoch’s jumps were impressive and gave genuine hope to every Polish supporter watching, but he was pipped to the podium in a competition that oozed quality and a showed the high standards deserving to be held at the Olympic Games.

Fellow jumpers Piotr Żyła, Paweł Wąsek and Dawid Kubacki also put in credible performances with their 18^th, 21^st and 26^th places, respectively. Wąsek will be particularly pleased to have got his best jump in on his debut Olympics, as Poland will eventually look towards him as their main man in future years, whilst he can look to Stoch for inspiration on how to represent on the highest level.

A distraught Stoch told skijumping.pl that his “heart is torn to shreds” and that “my head feels like it’s exploding… I’ve cried a bucket-full of tears, and still feel no better”. Whilst the 34 year old will need to refocus for Monday’s team event, he has shown that despite the multiple Olympic titles, world championships, and world cups, every jump means so much to him.

Speed skater Piotr Michalski will also have bittersweet feelings as he missed out on a bronze medal in the men’s 500m with a time of 34.524 seconds. The current European champion finished 5^th, achieving Poland’s best ever finish in speed skating at the Olympics. However, he was an agonising 0.03 seconds from a bronze.

Michalski told TVP Sport, “I came here for a medal. I was worried when I saw I was in third after my run as I wanted the lead”. He added, “But after the run I had, it was fun. I can be proud.” That pride can be extended to Damian Żurek and Marek Kania, who finished in an impressive 11^th and 16^th, respectively.

Meanwhile, Natalia Czerwonka, Magdalena Czyszczoń and Karolina Bosiek weren’t able to replicate the success of their male counterparts in the quarterfinals of the women’s team pursuit. In what’s been a challenging games due to Covid-19 disruption, and despite admirable performances, the team has not been able to settle and enjoy the competition. Nerves showed as Czerwonka made a false start. However, she kept her composure for the restart as the team finished 7^th, failing to qualify for the semi-finals.

Off-field problems have also affected the women’s cross-country skiing team as Izabela Marcisz, Monika Skinder, Weronika Kaleta and Karolina Kukuczka claimed 14^th in the women’s 4 x 5km relay. We mentioned earlier this week about reports of a rift between Marcisz and Skinder, and this has continued into uncertainties regarding team selection for the event.

Elsewhere, biathlete Grzegorz Guzik finished 48^th in the men’s 10km sprint. Whilst Guzik showed good composure in the shooting – only missing once – his speed was off pace as he was 2:35.8 from the lead. Nevertheless, the 30 year old will be pleased with a result which is considerably better than his form into the Games, and rewards him with qualification for tomorrow’s 12.5km pursuit.

Figure skaters Natalia Kliszek and Maksym Spodyriev competed in the Ice Dance competition. The duo currently sit in 15^th place, and advance to Monday’s free dance, having performed to Quick Musical Doodles by Two Feet.