Poland’s second place in the European Athletics Team Championships Silesia 2023!

The Italians turned out to be the best, but there was no shortage of emotions over the last three days at the Silesian Stadium.

The European Athletics Team Championships Silesia 2023 at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów was won by the Italian team – 426.5 points. The Poles, who were the best in the two previous editions, took the second place – 402.5 points and the third position was taken by Germany – 387.5 points. From the 1st DME Division fall: Belgium, Türkiye and Norway.

On the last day of the competition, 12 competitions were held. Before the start, the leaders in the classification of the Italians had as much as 35.5 points ahead of Poland and 37.5 points ahead of Germany. According to the calculations of the statisticians, this order was to remain unchanged after Sunday’s matches. And indeed, the athletes from Italy maintained this advantage all day long. But the White-Reds did very well in many competitions.

The last competition, the mixed 4×400 m relay, brought great emotions. The Polish team consisted of: Anna Kiełbasińska, Maks Szwed, Igor Bogaczyński and Natalia Kaczmarek. When Natalia took over the baton, White-Reds was only sixth, but her finish was phenomenal. On the final straight she overtook everyone and won, although 3:12.87 was the second time of the day, because in series B the Czechs scored 3:12.34 minutes.

In the 3000 m run Alicja Konieczek was the fastest – 9:38.72 min. The slow pace did not allow her to fight for the EG medal, but the Pole was happy: it was a bit slow, which made me nervous. Doping helped me for sure. I want to attack the Polish record.

Martyna Galant fought an exciting fight for victory in the 1500 m run. With a time of 4:11.78 minutes, she lost to the Spanish Esther Guerrero by only one hundredth. – The girls were kicking a lot. You had to be vigilant and not get pushed around so much. You had to fight for position the whole race – said Galant.

Albert Komański also did a great job, finishing second in the 200 m and winning the silver medal at the European Games with a time of 20.50. France’s Ryan Zeze won in 20.29 and Italian Filippo Tortu was third in 20.61. – I wanted to overtake the leading Italian and I succeeded. The rivals were strong. They didn’t pass me on the bends as they used to. The indoor competitions have already shown that there is a chance for good running. 20.50 is no limit. I hope there will be more glorious times. The medal is such a great addition. I am very happy with my result – said Komański.

Anna Kiełbasińska was fourth in the women’s 200 m competition – 22.92 sec. This is the third straight time in his career. The Dutch Lieke Klaver won. Time 22.46 sec. is her personal record. – The last few weeks have been tough, both physically and mentally. I will not complain, running under 23 seconds is a nice feat – said Kiełbasińska.

In the high jump, Norbert Kobielski took third place, at the same time winning the bronze medal of the European Games – with a result of 2.26 m. The Italian Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi triumphed – 2.29 m, and the Belgian Thomas Carmoy was second with the same result. – The plan was to get a full set of points, but I am happy with the third place. I have been suffering from neck pain for three days. I managed to heal it gently, but I knew that on the first jump it would recover. And then no rehearsal was finished the way I wanted – said Kobielski.

Michał Haratyk also took third place in the shot put – 20.89 m. This did not give him the medal of the European Games, because Mihajlević pushed further in the lower league, but our representative was satisfied. – Today was fine, it was fine. There was a lack of following the bullet, maybe on Tuesday in the next start I will succeed. I can stand 21.5 meters. And 22? There should still be some freshness – said Haratyk. And the best was Zane Weir – 21.59 m.

Other Polish representatives also deserve praise. Dawid Wegner was fourth in the javelin throw. 81.40 m is his second career result. Julian Weber won with 86.26 m. – I woke up in the fourth round and threw 81.40 m, which I am very happy with. I still have reserves – Wegner said.

Marcelina Witek-Konofał was eighth in the women’s javelin – 55.19 m. Nikola Ogrodnikova won – 61.75 m. Mateusz Gos was eighth in the 5000 m run – 14:01.67 min. Thierry Ndikumwenayo won in 13:25.48 minutes. Wiktoria Miąso jumped high with 1.84 and took ninth place. The winner was Nawal Meniker – 1.92 m. And Magdalena Bokun was 14th in the long jump – 6.03 m.