Called “Riding the Wave with Klaudia Zwolińska,” the initiative follows her recent success at the world championships in Australia, where she won two gold medals and one bronze.
Zwolińska, a silver medalist at last year’s Paris Olympics, said she hopes to use her achievements to inspire the next generation of athletes and raise the profile of whitewater sports in Poland.
“I don’t want to wait until I retire—I’m taking action now,” Zwolińska said. “I hope this project will grow into a nationwide programme, and that one day we’ll be proud to say it helped discover new champions. If anyone should do this, it’s Olympians. I’m starting with 10 schools in the Małopolska region, and there’s a lot ahead.”
Sports Minister Jakub Rutnicki praised the initiative, calling it a model example of how to connect grassroots participation with elite sport.
“To achieve success in competitive sport, we first need to inspire children—and no one can do that better than an Olympic medalist and world champion,” Rutnicki said.
“Programmes like this are extremely important, and I’m glad we’re supporting it this year," he added.
Rutnicki told reporters that while the project will initially be run in regions with natural conditions for whitewater paddling, it could later be expanded nationwide.
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Source: IAR, PAP