2021 POLISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- April 28 – May 2, 2021
- Lublin, Poland
- Long Course Meters (LCM)
- Olympic Qualification Meet
- Meet Website
- Live Results
- Day 1 Prelims | Day 1 Finals
- Day 2 Prelims | Day 2 Finals
- Day 3 Prelims | Day 3 Final
The penultimate day of racing began at the 2021 Polish Swimming Championships with the men’s and women’s 100 freestyle, 200 butterfly, and 200 breaststroke.
In the men’s 100 freestyle prelims, a total of 9 swimmers managed to crack the 50-second barrier and were all separated by only 0.87 seconds. Jakub Kraska leads the way with a 49.02 to get within half a second of the FINA A standard in the event. After Kraska, Mateusz Chowaniec was a 49.35 for second seed and Karol Ostrowski swam a 49.37 for third. Tonight’s final will be an opportunity for swimmers to make their case for a spot on the Polish Olympic squad either as an individual 100 freestyle swimmer or as a member o the 4×100 freestyle relay for which Poland has qualified to swim.
Men’s 100 Freestyle Top 10 – Prelims
- Jakub Kraska – 49.02
- Mateusz Chowaniec – 49.35
- Karol Ostrowski – 49.37
- Przemyslaw Gawrysiak – 49.61
- Konrad Czerniak – 49.64
- Bartosz Piszxzorowicz – 49.72
- Kacper Majchrzak – 49.83
- Paweł Korzeniowski – 49.87
- Marcin Cieślak – 49.89
- Jan Hołub – 50.13
Back in 2016, Czerniak, Korzeniowski, Majchrzak, and Ján Switkowski raced the event for Poland at the Rio Games, hitting a 3:15.52 for 13th place. No one, however, raced the event individually for Poland.
On the women’s side on the 100 freestyle, Alicja Tchórz earned the top seed with a 56.35 to just out-swim Kornelia Fiedkiewicz‘s 56.40. Both of those swims for Tchórz and Fiedkiewicz were a little off their respective best times of 55.78 and 55.49 which, should they hit tonight, would get them under the FINA A standard of 56.01.
In the men’s 200 butterfly, three swimmers snuck under the FINA B standard of 1:59.97 as Krzysztof Chmielewski (1:58.68), Jan Zubik (1:59.35), and Michal Chmielewski (1:59.67) delivered the top 3 swims of the morning. No swimmer has yet been under the FINA A standard of 1:56.48 during the designated qualifying meets, leaving the 2 spots up for grabs.
The women’s field was a little bit further off the mark as Daniela Georges posted the top time in the event with a 2:17.42, nearly 9 seconds slower than the FINA A standard of 2:08.43. The Polish women are experiencing the absence of 200 butterfly all-star Otylia Jędrzejczak who race the event for Poland at 4 straight Olympic Games from 2000 – 2012, including a gold medal performance in 2004 where she won the event with a 2:06.05. Jędrzejczak still holds the Polish record in the event at a 2:05.61 from 2005.
In the 200 breaststroke, Dawid Wiekiera posted the fastest men’s prelim swim with a 2:13.27. That’s an improvement upon the 2:15.91 he swam at the 2019 World Championships to earn 41st place but still trails the FINA A cut of 2:10.35. He will be joined in the final by second seed Bartłomiej Roguski (2:16.47) and third Mateusz Dubas (2:17.38).
Finally, 16-year-old Weronika Klejna will lead the women’s field into the 200 breast final, having swum a 2:34.02 during the prelims, just over her PB in the event of 2:33.46 from March 2021. Joining her in the final will be 2019 World Championships competitor in the event Weronika Hallmann (2:35.02), and Angelika Wikieł (2:35.02).
