Well over 500 people showed up on Saturday at the start of two distances – Sprint and Olympic – as part of the second day of LOTTO Challenge Gdańsk powered by PGE. It was warm and sunny, but the wind didn’t make the task easier for the triathletes. There was a lot of emotions at the finish line, especially in the men’s Olympic race. The day ended with the ladies competing in a 5 km charity run.
In the morning, at 8.00 sharp, the participants of the Sprint distance started (750 meters swimming, 20 km cycling and 5 km running). The Baltic Sea turned out to be kind and was not as cold as two days earlier, but the waves were already taking a toll on the competitors.
Igor Mentel was the first to leave the water, a dozen or so seconds behind him, a large group including a woman with great swimming skills – Karolina Szalast.
The bicycle is the showpiece of Tymon Horsten and Agnieszka Gadomska. It was at this stage of the race that they both secured victory over this distance. Mateusz Filipiak rode as hard as Horsten, but he swam a minute slower and was unable to catch up with the competitor with Polish and Dutch citizenship.
Agnieszka Gadomska was unrivaled on the bike, adding nearly 2 minutes to her next rival. During the race, she was the only woman who finished under 20 minutes. At the finish line, the winner did not hide her tears. – These are tears of happiness. I’m coming back from an injury, I didn’t know what to expect. And here I have a clear victory. Just a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to start in Gdańsk – said the joyful winner at the finish line. – The bike is now my strongest point. The fate of this competition was decided there.
On the running course, Horsten was closely chased by German Mattes Kuntermann. But he lost too much after swimming and cycling to catch up with the Pole. – I knew that I had to attack the bike and escape my rivals – said the winner at the finish line. – The swimming was quite good, although we got a little lost on the penultimate buoy, but fortunately it was quickly corrected.
Tactically from the end
We had a very interesting situation in the men’s Olympic distance competition. Rolling start is a formula in which competitors started every 10 seconds. In the live results, Marcin Paszkiewicz’s name kept appearing in the lead, but as it turns out, only after a few minutes… It turns out that it was a tactical move. – I planned to start later. However, I wanted it to be about one and a half minutes, but it was two – said this competitor at the finish line.
He crossed the finish line third, but ultimately finished second, although he was virtually in the lead for most of the distance. Ultimately, Rafał Wąsowski triumphed. – Someone once shouted to me that something was happening there, but I didn’t fully understand it. Only 500 meters before the finish line I received information that Marcin was the leader. What started happening then is hard to imagine now. A hard and crazy two minutes. And then more waiting at the finish line – the winner of the Olympic distance said calmly.
There were no such emotions among the women in the fight for first place. Aleksandra Grochowska set off as if on her own. Increasing your advantage with every kilometer. – It was actually a training start. I’m getting ready for the full Challenge Roth distance and here I simply started listening to the coach’s recommendations and instructions – explained Grochowska.
S. Chmara: I’ll be back next year!
Sebastian Chmara, vice-president of the Polish Athletics Association, crossed the finish line a few minutes behind the best lady. – Fatigue after the European Championships in Rome took its toll. But triathlon is a kind of suffering – he said at the finish line. – But the important thing is that I finished the competition. The rest is fantastic. I will definitely come back to Gdańsk next year. Here the player feels taken care of and is the most important. Revelation!
At the end of the day, a lot of women runners appeared at the pier in Brzeźno, thanks to the 5 km Challenge Women by Brooks run. Participation was the most important thing in this race, because the money from the entry fee goes largely to the Pomeranian Hospice for Children.
– Ladies, remember to smile appropriately – it’s actually a regulation – joked the announcer of this race at the start.
The ladies listened to him conscientiously. The warm-up before the race was conducted by multi-medallist in athletics Małgorzata Hołub-Kowalik and coach Aleksander Matusiński.
The results of today’s races can be found HERE
