Rogowska close to 4.82m at Polish Indoor Champs

The Polish indoor championships, which took place in Spala on 27 and 28 February, featured some expected wins by established top performers, as well as good performances by the younger generation. The highlights of the competition included winning vaults of 4.60m by Anna Rogowska and 5.70m by Lukasz Michalski, as well as Artur Noga’s 7.65 in the 60m Hurdles and the 800/ 1500m double win from Angelika Cichocka.

Three near misses at 4.82m national record

In recent years, the women’s Pole Vault has always been one of the highlights of national championships. On this occasion, the competition was not as close as usual. World championships silver medallist Monika Pyrek cleared only her opening height of 4.40m, following with three failures at 4.55m. Rogowska had two easy first-time clearances at 4.40m and 4.60m, after which she attempted to improve her national record to 4.82m. The height proved to be beyond her on the day, but all three attempts were close, confirming her status as a medal contender at the World Indoor Championships.

For Pyrek, this competition represented her first ever loss in the 12 editions of the indoor nationals. Following the competition, she confirmed she would not be competing in Doha, citing lack of form.

In the men’s vault, three athletes, Lukasz Michalski, Przemyslaw Czerwinski and Mateusz Didenkow cleared 5.50m. The first two followed up with comfortable clearances in their first attempts at 5.60. While Czerwinski was not able to go higher, the 21-year old Michalski secured the title with a third-time clearance of 5.70. This performance equalled his indoor best, and ensured his inclusion in the Polish team for Doha.

On the mend from back injury, Majewski struggles

Olympic Shot Put champion Tomasz Majewski did not have the best of competitions in Spala. Despite securing his sixth consecutive title, he was clearly dissatisfied with his performance of 19.99m. It was only just enough for the win, as Krzysztof Krzywosz improved his personal best to 19.91m in the fifth round.

In his post-competition comments, Majewski mentioned his recent back injury as reason for his sub-par performance. However, he confirmed that he would be going do Doha and hoping to recapture his form after another two weeks of training.

On the track, there was some good action throughout the weekend as well. In particular, the five Polish women who had already broken 4:11 in the 1500m this year, provided for competitive middle distance races.

The 22-year-old Angelika Cichocka proved the best of the bunch, earning two gold medals. On Saturday, she scored an easy victory in the 800m, finishing in 2:03.89 after a 28.89 last 200. The following day, she decisively beat her more established colleagues over 1500m in 4:10.91, with Lidia Chojecka in second place (4:12.68) and Wioletta Frankiewicz in third (4:14.37).

In the 3000m, Sylwia Ejdys finished the strongest, taking the title with 9:06.46. This time, it was Frankiewicz in second and Chojecka in third.

There was another double winner in the women’s event in the shape of Marika Popowicz. She took the 60m on Saturday with 7.33, and the 200m on Sunday with a personal best of 23.57.

Of the men’s races, perhaps the most eagerly awaited was the 60m Hurdles. Olympic finalist Artur Noga had to yield to Dominik Bochenek on a couple of occasions this winter, and was also the slower of the two in the preliminary race (7.76, compared to Bochenek’s 7.71), but in the final, he clearly prevailed over his rival. His time of 7.65 was Noga’s season best, and would have earned him a ticket to Doha, however, Noga declined a place on the World Indoor Championships team, preferring to concentrate on preparations for the summer season.

Marcin Marciniszyn won the 400m in 46.80, followed by newcomer Kamil Budziejewski with 47.20 and Piotr Klimczak with 47.23. All three guaranteed themselves places on the national relay in Doha.

In the 800m, Adam Kszczot, another hopeful for the World Indoor Championships, took a comfortable victory in a modest time of 1:50.25.

Of the other field events, the most notable performance came from Joanna Skibinska, who came close to her own national record in the Triple Jump with the final round effort of 14.05m. Despite achieving the qualifying standard, she, like Pyrek and Noga, made the decision to skip Doha to concentrate on the outdoor season.

After the competition, the national federation nominated a team of 16 athletes for the World Indoor Championships in Doha:

Men
400 metres: Marcin Marciniszyn (season’s best 46.80)
800 metres: Adam Kszczot (1:46.00)
60 metre hurdles: Dominik Bochenek (7.69)
Pole vault: Lukasz Michalski (5.70)
Shot Put: Tomasz Majewski (20.86)
4x400 metres: Marcin Marciniszyn, Piotr Klimczak, Kamil Budziejewski, Marcin Sobiech, Piotr Kedzia

Women
60 metres: Marika Popowicz (7.31)
800 metres: Angelika Cichocka (2:00.86)
1500 metres: Sylwia Ejdys (4:07.17), Renata Plis (4:09.85)
3000 metres: Lidia Chojecka (8:54.4), Renata Plis (8:59.3)
Pole vault: Anna Rogowska (4.81)
Pentathlon: Karolina Tyminska (4685 pts.)

Pawel Jackowski for the IAAF