Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland during the Press Conference (© Getty Images)
The host country, Poland, has entered its biggest ever team at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, with a total of 69 athletes (41 men and 28 women).
Medal hopes are primarily centered around male field events. The strongest event for Polish juniors appears to be javelin throw, where Robert Szpak is number two in the world this year with 75.97 and team-mate Piotr Frackiewicz is number four with 73.38.
In fact, the level of the event is so high that Bartlomiej Kempny, another Pole, who splits these two on the 2008 world list, failed to make the team!
Another strong thrower is the hammer specialist Pawel Fajdek, who is currently eighth on the 2008 world junior list with a best of 74.78.
Pole vaulter Pawel Wojciechowski, who set a new national junior mark of 5.51 this year, is second on the 2008 World lists behind the World junior record holder Raphael Holzdeppe and should be a strong medal challenger.
Sylwester Bednarek, who high jumped 2.26 as a seventeen year old in 2006 and placed fourth in the World Junior Championships that year, is the most internationally experienced athlete of the team and if he can rise to the challenge, he may also be a contender, although his season’s best so far has been a relatively modest 2.20.
In the running events, two members of the team have already proven themselves at the European level and will attempt to put up a good fight against African favourites.
Adam Kszczot was a bronze medallist at last year’s European Junior Championships and has a PB of 1:48.41, while Krystian Zalewski is this year’s fastest European junior in the steeplechase with 8:49.42.
The hopes in the women’s events are focused on two athletes. The 18-year old Anna Jagaciak has already improved by over 80 centimetres this year to set a national junior record of 13.43 in the triple jump, which puts her in the top ten in the world this year. Jagaciak will also compete in the long jump, as will the other Polish top female competitor Malgorzata Reszka.
Reszka, however, is more likely to challenge in the heptathlon, where her best of 5444 points puts her just outside of the top ten in the world.
Polish national team (season’s bests in parentheses)
Men
100 Bartosz Wojciechowski (10.60), Artur Zaczek (10.62)
200 Michal Partyka (21.43), Filip Totos (21.44)
400 Jakub Krzewina (47.54), Arkadiusz Wojno (47.51)
800 Adam Kszczot (1:49.29), Wojciech Jarosz (1:50.27)
1500 Kamil Zielinski (3:43.41), Szymon Sznura (3:45.84)
10000 Damian Kabat (30:40.03)
3000SC Krystian Zalewski (8:49.42)
110H Zachariasz Derezinski (14.32), Michal Szade (14.30)
400H Michal Pietrzak (52.16), Tomasz Baranowski (52.38), Rafal Omelko (53.34)
HJ Sylwester Bednarek (2.20), Bartosz Krocz (2.16)
PV Pawel Wojciechowski (5.51)
LJ Tomasz Dula (7.69), Zachariasz Derezinski (7.55)
TJ Wojciech Delimata (15.81), Karol Hoffmann (15.81)
SP Sylwester Zielinski (19.48), Przemyslaw Krawczak (18.88)
DT Mateusz Suchocki (57.05), Robert Tracz (55.98)
HT Pawel Fajdek (74.78), Norbert Rauhut (69.02)
JT Robert Szpak (75.97), Piotr Frackiewicz (73.38)
Dec Jacek Nabozny (7326), Szymon Czapiewski
4x100 metres: Bartosz Wojciechowski, Artur Zaczek, Michal Partyka, Piotr Oganiaczyk, Lukasz Gauza, Lukasz Krawczuk, Damian Pekala
4x400 metres: Jakub Krzewina, Arkadiusz Wojno, Jan Ciepiela, Przemyslaw Lewko, Rafal Omelko, Michal Pietrzak
10000RW Wojciech Halman (42:29), Dawid Tomala (42:46)
Women
100 Weronika Wedler (11.89), Ewa Zarebska (11.98)
200 Anna Kielbasinska (24.01), Weronika Wedler (24.24)
800 Magdalena Stankiewicz (2:08.74), Alicja Benedyk (2:08.85)
1500 Katarzyna Broniatowska (4:27.18)
3000 Karolina Waszak
3000SC Liliana Wodkowska (10:54.63)
100H Justyna Rybak (13.84), Marzena Koscielniak (14.00)
400H Monika Kopycka (59.74)
HJ Michalina Kwasniewska (1.82), Martyna Bielawska (1.80)
PV Agnieszka Kolasa (4.00), Joanna Michalska (4.00)
LJ Anna Jagaciak (6.29), Malgorzata Reszka (6.23)
TJ Anna Jagaciak (13.43)
DT Izabela Ogorek (49.31)
HT Joanna Fiodorow (61.22), Dagmara Stala (57.40)
JT Karolina Mor (49.80)
Hep Malgorzata Reszka (5444)
4x100 Weronika Wedler, Ewa Zarebska, Martyna Ksiazek, Aleksandra Kociolek, Zuzanna Karczmarek, Anna Kielbasinska
4x400 Ewa Jacniak, Joanna Linkiewicz, Kamila Nowak, Anna Pacholska
Pawel Jackowski for the IAAF
