Malta Rowing Lake in Poznan,
Poland.
“When I won the Olympic medal I became
a recognisable person,” says four-time World
Champion and Beijing Olympic Champion
Adam Korol. “Many people ask me for an autograph
or a photo. I receive more and more invitations. I’m
also engaged in many social initiatives, where the
image of successful and well-known people can be
used to reach goals.” It is hoped Korol’s popularity
and that of his teammates will encourage younger
generations of Poles to take up the sport of rowing.
>
championships was considerable. All semifinals
and A-finals were broadcast on the national sports
channel, and during the month leading up to the
regatta a special advertising campaign informed
spectators of the coming event. The newspaper
Glos Wielkopolski dedicated one full page to the
World Rowing Championships in its sports pages
every day of the regatta.
World Championship title in a female Olympic
boat class, the women’s double sculls, and
Magdalena Kemnitz and Agnieszka Renc winning
silver in the lightweight double, also an Olympic
boat class. The plan of the Polish Rowing Federation
to win two to three medals at the Olympic Games
2012 in London, including one medal in a female
category, seems to be on the right track.
“There are about 1,500 licensed competitors in the
Polish Rowing Federation,” says Korol. “One can say
that in Poland rowing is a niche sport. However,
after the successes of Polish competitors during
the last decade we can see an increase of interest
in our sport. The success of our crew in the last
couple of years has made rowing a more popular
sport in Poland. Rowing is discussed more often
in the newspapers and on television.”
Polish rowing is still seeking to improve for London
2012, especially in female boat classes. After Beijing,
Stadniuk stated: “It is true that we didn’t win an
Olympic medal in a female boat class. The absence
of female crews at the highest level is a problem.”
It seems though that this problem is already now
being solved, with Julia Michalska and Magdalena
Fularczyk winning Poland’s first ever
Poland’s most successful crew, four-time World Champions and
2008 Olympic Champions in the men’s quadruple sculls: (l to r)
Michal Jelinski, Konrad Wasielewski, Adam Korol and Marek Kolbowicz.
All four are listed among the 2009 Top 10 Male Rowers.
■ D.M.-F. with the kind contribution of
Patricia Lambert, member of FISA’s media commission
Zenon Milczewski from TVP (Polish television)
and Jacek Paluba from Glos Wielkopolski (a Polish
newspaper) confirm the growing interest of
Polish media in rowing: “[The World Rowing
Championships] is the biggest sports event this
year in our region. We had been wanting it for
10 years before we were awarded it in 2005,”
they say. Media coverage in Poland during the
