Olympic efforts
Ranked by number of gold medals (then silver and bronze), Poland was in 18th place among nations, trailing Canada and just ahead of the Czech Republic. Approximately 204 countries competed in the Summer Games.
Sterling (and auric) examples
Poland's first medal did not come from the swimmers as everyone expected. Instead, Polish fans had to wait almost a week for Tomasz Majewski to take gold in the men's shot put. The men's fencing team (epee) earned a silver on the same day.
Their successes sparked the Polish delegation's competitive spirit. Two days later, on a Sunday, Polish athletes were a common sight on the winners' podium. Poland medaled in two rowing competitions - gold in the men's quadruple sculls and silver in the men's lightweight four - while Szymon Kołecki took silver in men's weightlifting (94 kg) and Agnieszka Wieszczek won the bronze in women's freestyle wrestling.
Two other Poles medaled during the week. Leszek Blanik captured the gold in artistic gymnastics (men's vault), Poland's first-ever gold in gymnastics, and Piotr Małachowski took silver in men's discus throw.
What might have been
Swimming was one of the biggest disappointments for Poland. Otylia Jędrzejczak, who took a gold and two silvers at the 2004 Athens Games, was considered one of her country's best hopes. However, during the first weekend of competition the swim team as a whole had difficulty qualifying for the finals. The team's best result was Jędrzejczak's fourth place finish in the 200-m butterfly.
Another letdown came from team competitions. Both the women's and men's volleyball teams, as well as the men's handball squad, had been considered contenders. The women's volleyball and men's handball teams sank in the first round, while the men's volleyball squad put up a stronger fight before losing a five-set knuckle-biter to Italy in the quarterfinals.
Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Życki, world champions in 2008, finished fourth in star-class sailing, and runner Marek Plawgo also came home empty-handed.
Rumors of conflicts inside the Polish delegation also surfaced. Fencer Sylwia Gruchała had a few harsh words for the Polish fencing authorities, complaining about the atmosphere in the federation and the lack of proper training. She announced her retirement after failing to medal at the games.
Plawgo criticized the state of Polish athletics as well. There were also reports that a Polish official from the athletics federation was found drunk on the lawn of the Olympic Village.
"These conflicts don't help the athletes, of course. But they have been aware of the things going on in the federations throughout the years of their training," said Dr Dariusz Parzelski of the Warsaw School of Social Psychology.
He underscored that there was a lack of clear qualification criteria in the federations. Often the coach alone decides who competes and who doesn't, which sometimes causes bitterness, especially if the chosen athlete doesn't win, he said.
Game over?
As WBJ went to press, a few Polish athletes remained in competition, but their chances were not considered strong. Adam Krzesiński, a former Olympic medalist in fencing and currently general secretary of the Polish Olympic Committee, was reluctant to judge the performance of Polish athletes, however.
"I think it is too early to comment as the games have not finished yet. The assessment will come after the last competition involving Poles," he told WBJ from Beijing.
