Even though the race walk took place in very difficult conditions, almost at noon and at very high temperatures , especially in the sun, Doctor Katarzyna Zdziebło managed to win a silver medal in the women’s 20 km race walk at 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. It is the first Poland’s medal at the championships. Worlds’ first gold in 20km race walk was won by Peru’s Garcia Leon.
‼️ MEDAL ‼️#Oregon22:
chód na 20 kilometrów
? Katarzyna Zdziebło 1:27:31 NR#WorldAthleticsChamps @PKN_ORLEN pic.twitter.com/YoZpaVWmxF— PZLA (@PZLANews) July 15, 2022
As stated before, the conditions during the competitions were very demanding. However, Katarzyna Zdziebło was in her element:
“But I really didn’t mind these conditions at all. What is more, I feel good in such conditions. My organism is able to work properly and I have no problems with overheating or any kind of power loss. This day was almost perfectly arranged for me,” she admitted, surrounded by recorders. (sport.tvp.pl)
Before the race, she wanted to compete only in a 35-kilometer walk because she thought that she has a much better chance of success in this category. She estimated and placed herself in the top 8 35km walkers.
Pierwszy finał i pierwszy medal dla ?? Katarzyna Zdziebło sprawiła sensację, zdobyła ? w chodzie na 20 km#Oregon22 #WCHOregon22 #WorldAthleticsChamps
LINK >>> https://t.co/Dp1d7BwPAj pic.twitter.com/fUZZivvgl1
— Sport PR (@sportradiopl) July 16, 2022
The 25-year-old Polish woman was third for most of the distance, but at about 17 kilometers of the race she overtook the Chinese Shijie Qieyang and was the second to reach the finish line.
“Originally, I didn’t really think about taking part at this distance. And now, I have a Polish record (from 2014 it was 1: 28.58 by Agnieszka Dygacz, Zdziebło obtained 1: 27.31 – editor’s note). But as I walked like that, I realized how great I felt that day. It was a pity not to take advantage of it, right?”, she shrugged behind the finish line. However, she also did not hide the fact that she had a crisis moment. Just the one when she moved from third to second. Iron character won with weaknesses. (sport.tvp.pl)