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WRAP-UP: Poland wins eight medals at European Athletics Championships in Birmingham

18.08.2026 19:00
Poland won eight medals—six silver and two bronze—at the 2026 European Athletics Championships, which ended in Birmingham on Sunday, in what officials described as a highly successful campaign for the country.
Audio
Polish high jumper Maria Żodzik celebrates winning silver in at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, Aug. 15, 2026.
Polish high jumper Maria Żodzik celebrates winning silver in at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, Aug. 15, 2026.Photo: PAP/Adam Warżawa

Poland won two more medals than at the previous European championships in Rome two years ago.

"The number of medals was a positive surprise for everyone, though we missed out on a gold medal," Polish Athletics Association head Sebastian Chmara said.

He noted that Poland came close to gold, with Pia Skrzyszowska losing the women's 100 metres hurdles title to Nadine Visser of the Netherlands by just 0.001 seconds.

Ewa Swoboda also came close to winning gold in the women's 100 metres.

"Despite that, I believe these championships were a great success," Chmara said. "There were some disappointments, but that's always the case in sport. We scored significantly more points in the team standings than in Rome."

Chmara, a former world indoor heptathlon champion, said Poland also narrowly missed out on medals in several events.

Javelin thrower Dawid Wegner finished just 1 centimetre short of bronze, while hammer throwers Anita Włodarczyk and Paweł Fajdek also came close to the podium.

"With a bit of luck, the medal haul could have been even bigger," Chmara said.

He said he was particularly pleased with Klaudia Kazimierska, who won silver in the women's 1,500 metres.

"Since the beginning of this year, she has shown that she is capable of achieving her goals," Chmara said.

"I'm sure this is the beginning of a beautiful journey for Klaudia. I believe it can take her to Olympic heights."

Looking ahead to next year's world championships in Beijing, Chmara said any result better than Poland's single medal at the 2025 world championships in Tokyo would represent progress.

Earlier, Team Poland will be looking to make its mark at the European indoor championships in Valencia, scheduled for March 4-7, 2027.

Poland's six silver medals in Birmingham came from Kazimierska in the women's 1,500 metres, Katarzyna Zdziebło in the women's marathon race walk, Skrzyszowska in the women's 100 metres hurdles, Swoboda in the women's 100 metres dash, Natalia Bukowiecka in the women's 400 metres and Maria Żodzik in the women's high jump.

Jakub Szymański won bronze in the men's 110 metres hurdles, while Poland's women's 4x100 metres relay team of Kryscina Cimanouska, Magdalena Stefanowicz, Skrzyszowska and Swoboda also took bronze.

Poland won six medals—two gold, two silver and two bronze—at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.

The continental championships in Birmingham ran from August 10 to 16.

(gs)

Source: PAP

Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski