As we previously reported, svexa is working with the Polish Ski Association to drive forward their national cross country team’s results ahead of the next winter Olympics. The effort is led by svexa’s Director of Applied Sports and elite XC ski coach Olof Hedberg.
Earlier this season the team achieved another fantastic milestone, with excellent results at the FIS Lillehammer World Cup. Izabella Marcisz achieved her second best World Cup performance ever, finishing 28th in a very competitive field on the famously tough Norwegian course. In the sprint qualifier, compatriot Maciej Starega had his strongest performance since January 2016, going to place 5th in his quarter final.
More recently, Poland had another great performance at the World University games. Izabela Marcisz once again led the way, winning both 10k freestyle and the sprint classic! She followed that up with bronze in the sprint mixed relay. On the last day of the event, a lot of tired athletes took to the course for the 20k classic mass start. Over half of the women’s field DNF’ed or DNS’ed, but Izabella pushed through to another podium success, again grabbing the bronze.
On the men’s side Poland only had one starter, with Tomasz Wąsowicz skiing his best race for the season to take a strong 5th place. This ends an extremely successful championships for Poland, who finished 2nd overall in the medal league in cross country! This is particularly notable, since these are the Polish team’s first medals in 10 years! After some well deserved rest, athletes are now shifting focus to the World Cup, and World Championships.
Olof Hedberg leads svexa’s work in cross-country skiing, including our partnerships with the Polish Ski Association, and Sollefteå Ski Gymnasium.
Photo credit: Arkadiusz
