We will see Damian Czykier in 110-metre hurdles. The run in the competition is planned for 3 August (first round). The next day semi-finals take place. The best runners will run in the finals on 5 August.

Damian has been the best Polish 110-metre hurdler for years. Apart from participating in many domestic championships, he got to the semi-finals of the previous Olympics (2016) and semi-finals of the world championships (2017), he won fourth place in the European championships (2016, 2018) and was awarded a bronze medal in the Universiade (2017).

Damian completed a diploma in building services at WUT.  In 2020 he defended his engineering thesis on the efficiency of 103 bus route in Warsaw.

‘I’m going to Tokyo to make my dreams come true,’ says Damian. ‘And you don’t talk about dreams, you just realize them. It’s my second time in the Olympics so I’ve come here with a lot of experience. Currently, I’m getting into shape at an acclimatization training camp in Japan. Funnily enough, my coaches’ favourite question for me is how I researched 103 bus route.’

Damian Czykier with a defended engineering thesis, photo Facebook / Damian Czykier

For Szymon Pośnik - a rower – it is an Olympic debut.  He will fight for the best result in Tokyo in double four with Dominik Czaja, Wiktor Chabel, and Fabian Barański. The same rowing crew won a silver medal of the world championships in 2019 and fourth place in the European championships in 2021. Our student is also a winner of the World Cup general classification (2019) and was awarded a bronze medal in the European championships (2018).

Szymon is a student of mechatronics at WUT. He’s planning his master’s thesis defense after the Olympics.

Rowers begin their competition in Tokyo on 23 July. The finals of best double fours are planned for 27 July.

‘My goal in the Olympics is to defend my medal position won at World Championships,’ says Szymon. ‘We have been trying to achieve the same level as during those championships throughout the whole season and I think we are already there, or even managed to outperform ourselves. It is all up to our hands, legs and heads to get there during the race.’

‘Our acclimatization training camp in Japan was located north of Tokyo,’ says Szymon. ‘Despite restrictive regulations in the small town of Tome people offered a very warm welcome to us. They came to the rowing tracks and waved from the bank with Polish flags during our stay. As concerns the regulations, they were extremely absurd. For example, special screens separating the team from the rest of the parking lot were placed during stopovers at stations. We lived in two hotels around 100 metres apart and we had to travel between them in a rented van.  The Olympic village itself and Tokyo viewed from there are both overwhelming with their size and modern urban planning. You can sense an amazing atmosphere of a great world-class event in the air.’

Szymon Pośnik and his collection of medals won in championships

The Olympic Games in Tokyo will last from 23 July to 8 August.