An Olympic Gala was held at the headquarters of the Polish Olympic Committee to summarize the performance of the Polish national team at the 25th Winter Olympic Games. The most surprising aspect of the event was the absence of any representative of the government.
The head of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz, admitted that he had invited the Minister of Sport, Jakub Rutnicki, to the ceremony. But…
“The Minister of Sport was invited because sport rises above divisions; sport should unite. He did not even respond to the invitation. We are ready for dialogue for the good of Polish sport,” Piesiewicz emphasized.
Nawrocki: Thank you to all Olympians
On behalf of President Karol Nawrocki, the ceremony was attended by Mateusz Kotecki, Undersecretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. He read a letter from the head of state.
“I would like to express my highest recognition to the medalists. Polish fans were given immense joy by our ski jumpers, for the sixth time already at the Olympic Games in the 21st century. Kacper Tomasiak’s two individual medals, as well as the third won together with Paweł Wąsek in the first historic duos competition, are a major achievement. Equally impressive is the silver medal won by Władimir Siemirunnij, which brought the Olympic tally of our speed skaters to seven medals. I wholeheartedly congratulate not only the medalists on their excellent results, but also the other members of the national team, who so often came close to the podium and showed extraordinary determination. Among them are Maryna Gąsienica-Daniel, who finished seventh in the giant slalom in alpine skiing, and Damian Żurek and Kaja Ziomek-Nogal, who achieved outstanding results in sprint speed skating. I bow my head to our biathletes, authors of Poland’s best-ever finish in the relay event, as well as to Nikola Domowicz and Dominika Piwkowska, who on the luge track proved that passion and perseverance can bring an excellent result despite various adversities. I thank all Olympians for representing our Homeland with dignity,” President Nawrocki wrote.