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 Finals
- Day 4 Prelims
The 4th night of racing at the 2021 Polish Swimming Championships featured swimmers vying for the national title as well as a spot on the 2021 Olympic squad in the 200 butterfly, 100 freestyle, and 200 breast.
The highlight of the evening was Krzysztof Chmielewski‘s 200 butterfly performance in which he posted a 1:56.28 to earn the gold medal while also getting under the FINA A standard of 1:56.48. Chmielewski’s swim was an improvement upon his previous best time in the event of 1:57.95 which he set earlier this year in Warsaw. Following Chmielewski for the silver medal, Jan Zubik posted a 1:58.14 while Michal Chmielewski rounded out the top 3 with a 1:58.47.
Another exciting event during night 4 finals was the men’s 100 freestyle in which Jakub Kraska and Karol Ostrowski actually wound up tying each other for the national title. Both of them dipped under the 49-second mark, clocking a 48.72. The swim for Kraska was a little bit slower than what he swam in July of 2020 when he hit a 48.57 in Budapest. The time for Ostrowski, however, was his first time under 49 in the event, improving upon the 49.37 PB he swam during the prelims. Heading into the meet he had a best time of 49.52.
Kacper Majchrzak also reached the podium with a 49.17 for third, unable to defend his national title in the event from 2019 when he won with a 48.88. Mateusz Chowaniec followed with a 49.20 for 4th place while Konrad Czerniak was a 49.24 for 5th. While no one in the final cracked the FINA A standard of 48.57, all 9 top finishers in the event were under the FINA B of 50.03 as Przemyslaw Gawrysiak (49.25), Bartosz Piszxzorowicz (49.65), Marcin Cieślak (49.94), Paweł Korzeniowski (50.01), and Jan Hołub (50.13) placed 6th – 10th, respectively.
With 9 swimmers under the FINA B standard, the selection committee will need to decide who they will nominate to the team to swim the 100 freestyle both individually and as a part of the 4×100 freestyle relay in Tokyo.
As for the women’s 100 freestyle, 4 swimmers managed to get under the FINA B standard of 56.01 but all of them were short of the 54.38 FINA A. Alicja Tchórz won the event by swimming a 55.06 which was quicker than her prelim swim of 56.35 as well as her best time of 55.78 from April 2019. Joining Tchórz on the podium, Aleksandra Polańska came in with a 55.21 for silver while Kornelia Fiedkiewicz hit a 55.38 for the bronze medal. Dominika Kossakowska made it 4 women under the 56-second mark by swimming a 55.70 for 4th place.
Like the men, the Polish women have qualified for a spot in the 4×100 freestyle relay in Tokyo, and one more swimmer who will likely earn consideration to race the event individually and on the relay is Kasia Wassick who was absent from Polish Championships but recently hit a 54.66 at the Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo stop.
In the women’s 200 butterfly, Aleksandra Klusek lead the field with a 2:15.63 for gold, narrowly out-touching Klara Kowalska‘s 2:15.99. Zuzanna Nowak joined the duo on the podium with a 2:16.57 while Daniela Georges fell from her top seed heading into the final to fourth place with a 2:18.12. 2019 Polish Championship runner-up in the event, Daria Zelińska was a 2:18.21 for 5th which was nearly 5 seconds slower than her 2:13.32 silver medal performance from 2 years ago.
Dawid Wiekiera has seen a solid improvement in his 200 breaststroke over the course of the meet, ending with a 2:11.73 national title which gets him under the FINA B standard of 2:14.26 and within nearly a second of the 2:10.35 FINA A. Heading into the meet, Wiekiera held a PB of 2:14.68 and lowered it to a 2:13.27 in the prelims and then again to a 2:11.73 in the finals. Should Wiekiera be named to the Olympic team in the event, he will have a shot at improving upon his 2:15.91 41st place finish from 2019 World Championships.
Bartłomiej Roguski claimed silver in the 200 breast with a 2:12.47 while Dawid Szwedzki earned bronze in a 2:13.34.
In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Weronika Hallmann was just over her best time of 2:29.43 to win the event in a 2:29.52. Hallmann won the event by more than 3 seconds, getting in ahead of Kinga Paradowska‘s 2:33.02 as well as Weronika Klejna‘s 2:34.22. While the 3 of them missed the FINA A standard of 2:25.52, Hallmann’s winning swim got her just under the FINA B of 2:29.89.
The 4th night of racing featured the men’s and women’s 4×200 freestyle relays with the winning teams producing the following splits:
- Men: Kamil Sieradki (1:49.94) / Jakub Walter (1:53.68) / Michal Daszkiewcz (1:52.14) / Wiktor Grzegorczyk (1:52.84) – 7:28.60
- Women: Aleksandra Knop (2:01.28) / Zuzanna Dzwonik (2:08.09) / Paulina Piechota (2:05.97) / Katarzyna Szlęk (2:04.51) – 8:19.85
FINA A Cuts Hit At 2021 Polish Championships
- Jakub Majerski – 100 Butterfly (51.91)
- Paweł Juraszek – 50 Freestyle (21.72/21.77)
- Radoslaw Kawęcki – 200 Backstroke (1:57.07)
- Krzysztof Chmielewski – 200 Buttefly (1:56.48)
At Eyof 2019 the 200 fly were won by Russian Klimenishchev (born in 2003) in 1.58.06 ahead of British Mildred (2003, 1.58.64). Third Krzysztof Chmielewski (born in 2004) in 2.01.82.
Now, with this 1.56.28 (5 seconds and a half improvement in less than two years) Krzysztof Chmielewski has a faster PB than Klimenishchev (1.56.50) and Mildred (1.58.04).
If Jakub Kraska swam a 48.57 in July of 2020 he has a FINA A time as long as it was an approved qualifying event. It would matter since swimmers with A cuts have priority in entry over swimmers with B-cuts as Universality(?) swimmers are selected before B-cut swimmers.
Does anyone know if they will be using times from 2019/2020 or other meets?
His 48.57 is from the 4 Nations Swimming Competition from Budapest, which was not a FINA approved qualifying event, so it does not count as an A standard time.