Disappointments and surprises

Tears of joy were shed three times, as shot putter Tomasz Majewski, the men's quadruple sculls team and gymnast Leszek Blanik stood on the top step of the podium and thus let the Polish national anthem be heard in China.

Particularly high hopes and faith were placed on the Polish swimming squad, led by Otylia Jędrzejczak, who won a gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics. Unfortunately, the swimmers failed miserably, most of whom did not even qualify for their discipline finals. The best result was Otylia's fourth place in the 200 meter butterfly event. Silver was won by the fencing team, by weightlifter Szymon Kołecki and by discus thrower Piotr Małachowski. Another team silver was grasped by the men's quadruple lightweight rowing team. And the only bronze was taken by female wrestler Agnieszka Wieszczek.

Mirosław Drzewiecki, Minister of Sports and Tourism exclusively tells WBJ Considering the unusual high performance level of sportsmen taking part in the XXIX Olympics, the performance of Polish representation can be described as satisfactory. Although as a minister and as a Polish fan, I would love to see better results of our sportsmen. On the other hand, however, I said it several times, that the Beijing games will be much more difficult than previous ones, because the hosts set the bar extremely high for all of the participants. It is important to note that the decreasing tendency in terms of earned medals was halted. In Beijing Poles got as many medals as four years before in Athens, but this time we won much more silver rings. Our athletes took part in 61 finals - in comparison with 42 in Athens, that is a progress. I also announced that after closing the Beijing games we will start a major reconstruction in Polish sports and I am ready for it. We are currently preparing a new sports bill that will change principles of financing sports in Poland, [striving to make] managing of Polish sports federations professional. The sports world is moving forward in a fast pace. We have no time to waste, and we need to move forward as well using experience of other countries and implement much needed changes effectively.

Not a single men's bout was won, a far cry from the Atlanta 1996 games when Poland won three medals in wrestling.

Team sports performance was another huge disappointment. The female volleyball team lost their first few games, and when they finally brought some Olympic spirit of rivalry and cause for excitement, it was too late for them to beat other teams in their group and fight for medals. The men's handball team, among Poland's favorites at the games, displayed an uneven level of performance, sometimes losing games in the last few minutes. They managed to advance to quarterfinals, where they eventually lost to Iceland. The men's volleyball team, on the other hand, showed great spirit, knocking out every opponent in the first round. Unfortunately, the Italian team was too strong to overcome, and Poland got beaten in a five-set volleyball thriller quarterfinal. Both men's handball and volleyball teams finished the competition in fifth place.

What happened to the favorites?

"Athletes react to pressure differently, usually according to their personality and previous sport experience," Dr Dariusz Parzelski, sports psychologist at the Warsaw School of Social Psychology told WBJ. "If one is aware of one's strong medal candidacy, it may boost one's performance. But there is also a group of sportsmen who get paralyzed by this awareness," he added. The expert also underscores the fact that Olympic games are a completely different kind of competition from world championships. "Sometimes for the athlete it is just a matter of [his or her] current disposition," he explained.

Another sports psychologist, Kamil Wódka, does not think the expectations were too high. "They were set according to our athletes' potential skills. We will never run as fast as Kenyans, but it is not the problem of not being able to develop some skills. The problem lies in training infrastructure," he explained.

The favorites underperformed, but the success came from the unexpected. Whoever thought that cross country mountain-biker Maja Włoszczowska could win a silver medal? After all it is not a typical Polish competition and not as spectacular and exciting as team sports or sprint competitions. Fans counted on the female canoeing doubles - but more as a last chance to receive any medal in Beijing - than as strong favorites for medals at all. But they won silver as well. Majewski's gold was the first medal won by a Polish athlete in the Beijing Olympics. In total they brought home three gold, six silver and one bronze, tying a medal total of ten with the Athens Olympics. It is still the least amount of Olympic medals won since Melbourne games in 1956, but Poland ranked 20^th in the medal ranking among 204 participating countries.

Not a defeat

Table tennis player Natalia Partyka attracted international media attention. A 19-year-old born without her right forearm was one of two athletes in Beijing to compete in both - Olympics and Paralympics. During the latter she will defend her championship title from Athens. She was the only athlete that the world could see on the TV screen, who will perhaps be remembered and associated with Poland. The Beijing Olympics will be remembered best for its heroes - American swimmer Michael Phelps, runner Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and Chinese sportsmen altogether, the latter winning a total of 51 gold medals.

Włodzimierz Szaranowicz, a TVP sports commentator, noted that the Polish Olympic environment cannot overcome a depression it has had since the mid 1980s. "After successful participation in Munich and Montreal Olympics [1976], there were games in Russia [Moscow, 1980] and then an awful decision to boycott the games in Los Angeles [1984]. Polish athletes dropped out of the Olympic rhythm and could never catch up with the international competition," he said in Beijing during the closing ceremony.

The president of the Polish Olympic Committee, Piotr Nurowski describes the Beijing performance as successful. "Ten medals, the same amount as in Athens, is not a glory but is not a defeat either," he commented after coming back from China. He praised many Polish athletes.

No wonder, it is hard to imagine an Olympic official criticizing performance of a representation he leads. However, Nurowski announced changes that should take place in some sports federations.

Despite all this, all the athletes were welcomed as heroes by fans upon their arrival from Beijing.

--

Poland's greatest Olympians
Athlete	Category	Olympics	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Robert Korzeniowski	Track and Field	1996-2004	4	0	0	4
Irena Szewińska	Track and Field	1964-1972	3	2	2	7
Witold Woyda	Fencing	1964-1972	2	1	1	4
Renata Mauer	Shooting	1992-2004	2	0	1	3
Józef Szmidt	Track and Field	1960-1964	2	0	0	2
Waldemar Baszanowski	Weightlifting	1964-1968	2	0	0	2
Jerzy Kulej	Boxing	1964-1968	2	0	0	2
Józef Zapędzki	Shooting	1968-1972	2	0	0	2
Waldemar Legień	Judo	1988-1992	2	0	0	2
Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek	Modern Pentathlon	1992	2	0	0	2
Andrzej Wroński	Wrestling	1988-1996	2	0	0	2
Robert Sycz	Rowing	2000-2004	2	0	0	2
Tomasz Kucharski	Rowing	2000-2004	2	0	0	2
Jerzy Pawłowski	Fencing	1956-1978	1	3	1	5
Otylia Jędrzejczak	Swimming	2000-2004	1	2	0	3
Teresa Ciepły	Track and Field	1960-1964	1	1	1	3
Egon Franke	Fencing	1964-1968	1	1	1	3
Source: Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee