Milan-Cortina 2026: Polish Speed Skaters and Ski Jumpers Battle for Olympic Podiums

Saturday, February 14, is a crucial day for the Polish team during the Winter Olympic Games in Italy. The Poles currently have two silver medals to their name, won by Kacper Tomasiak on the normal hill and Vladimir Semirunnij in the 10,000-meter race. The greatest hopes for increasing this tally are tied to the performance of Damian Żurek. The Pole, who holds high positions in the World Cup standings, is aiming for the podium in his signature 500-meter distance. After placing fourth in the 1000-meter event, where he missed the bronze medal by just 0.07 seconds, Żurek is considered one of the main favorites in Saturday's competition. Simultaneously, competitions in other disciplines are taking place. On the large hill ski jumping hill in Predazzo, we will see Kacper Tomasiak again, who has already proven his high form on the smaller hill. Fans are also counting on a successful performance by the Polish biathletes in the women's sprint. Although the Polish cross-country skiers are not medal favorites, the high form of Joanna Jakieła and Natalia Sidorowicz allows for realistic hopes of top-ten finishes. Meanwhile, the Italian hosts are experiencing mixed feelings after the women's ice hockey team was eliminated, losing 0:6 to the dominant United States in the quarterfinals. In other venues, competitions in alpine skiing, where men compete in the giant slalom, and curling are ongoing. Italy, despite some stumbles in the group stage, still counts on strong performances from its representatives, but the Polish teams are the center of attention on the Vistula River. Saturday's schedule concludes with competition in short track, where Poles are also looking for chances to improve their points tally. The situation at the Games is dynamic, and each event brings us closer to summarizing the performance of the Polish team, which is already presenting itself much better than four years ago in Beijing.Polish Nordic skiing and speed skating are traditionally the strongest Polish winter sports, initiated by the successes of Wojciech Fortuna in 1972 and Adam Małysz in the modern era.[{"strona1": "USA", "strona2": "Italy", "wynik1": 6, "wynik2": 0, "runda": "Quarterfinal"}]0.07 s — Damian Żurek missed the medal in the 1000 m by this marginKey Polish starts on February 14: February 14, 12:00 — Women's cross-country relay; February 14, 14:45 — Women's biathlon sprint; February 14, 17:00 — Speed skaters' 500 m race; February 14, 20:00 — Large hill ski jumping competition