Inside Polish Sports

Can we please bring Elway with Iga to every tournament from now on?! After 326 days it was once again Świątek Piątek(Czwartek) in Toronto as Elena Rybakina was on the back end our legend's 26th career Singles title. And what Iga said at both the trophy ceremony and press conference is even more valuable and noteworthy to anyone who has been doubting and doubted as an athlete and more broadly as a valuable human.

Also, Katarzyna Wilk-Wasick beat three world record holders to become Europe's fastest swimmer, no golds but plenty of silvers and bronzes on the track in Birmingham, how the hell is the cap worn by the Polish Speedway champion still awarded in spite of being gifted by the Soviets?, and an update on Kacper Prokopiak and how he'll fly soon to Elmira, New York to play in the NAHL despite no yet having the full funds.

Match report from Beskid Andrychów vs Pcimianka Pcim drops on Friday.

This weekend proved that it is not just the general populace that can be ignorant of athletes, their virtue, faults and humanity. Whilst Iga Świątek was steaming thru her best tournament this season in Toronto, Professor Ewa Woydyłło was calling her a "stupid and fearful girl" whilst her comments on Aryna Sabalenka do not even deserve to be printed. At least she had the nerve and courtesy to apologise which can't be said for any bots commenting below that now-deleted podcast.

Whilst on Friday Kasia Niewiadoma rocked the Cycling world by destroying Mont Ventoux and taking the Tour de France yellow jersey in a ride that left me and all other Poles watching in awe, if not in tears. 24 hours later she had lost the lead and vented out her frustrations on a 20-year Frenchwoman, who later inexplicably got death threats for her rookie mistake in the heat of competition from those you can never realise that it was just that and that the ladies can forgive each other for both words and action.

Also, Lewy scores again, Arek Milik scores for the first time since Charli XCX's Brat came out and my personal tribute to Unia Oświęcim's former MC/On-Ice Entertainer extraordinaire Zdzisław Kozaczek.

Kacper Prokopiak's fundraiser: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

This weekend just proved that our greatest sporting moments come when the need to make a living from a given sport is not guaranteed. Our volleyball internationals barely earn a tenth that of their Football counterparts, but have now won three Nations League titles in four years, eight major tournament golds since 2009 and Nikola Grbic is nine for nine as a head coach in finishing on the podium. Bartłomiej Kubkowski and Karolina Szczepaniak's motivation wasn't for their own gain but to raise money for Cancer Fighters and 14-year old Piotrek by swimming the frosty and murky waters of the Baltic from Sweden to Western Pomerania over 100 miles.

Meanwhile, on the Football side of things the general mindset is not only lazy, but Stanisław Mrożek's Tango level of decadent. Especially at Lech Poznań whose budget this season is US$53.67 million yet who can't even make it past ONE BLOODY ROUND of Champions League qualifying by dropping a three-goal first-leg lead AT HOME against a Danish side that last played in the competition when Through the Barricades by Spandau Ballet was topping the charts!

Forgive me for not doing the Montreal 1976 retrospectives yet but I'm at the physios this week and the next, and also it was too humid to travel to Kraków for Kajakowy Narodowy on Sunday so the interview with Klaudia Zwolińska will come at a later time.

Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

It is kinda fitting that in the month that Nolan's The Odyssey came out the Homeric journey of movie lover Łukasz Fabiański came to an end at the age of 41. Fabian would've been remembered mearly as a great number two keeper behind the likes of Boruc and Szczęsny if it wasn't for his leap of faith in 2014. I will talk about how the move from Arsenal to Swansea and later West Ham truly made him unforgettable and brought him a European winner's medal and us some of the best moments from Euro 2016(Which in the perfect world he would've won too!). Enjoy the popcorn Łukasz!

Also, Wisła's victorious Ekstraklasa return features a smokation break, Matuesz Bogusz makes up for Lewy's initial MLS goal drought, there is a 13 year old from my hometown who's really good at Karting and how the curse of Polish heavyweight title pursuit is best characterised by why Mariusz Wach only fought Tyson Fury for Netflix purposes and not in a live broadcast(It has something to do with Ben Johnson's beloved stanozolol).

Interview with Klaudia Zwolinska(and maybe Michał Pasiut too) in next week's review. Also by Sunday I'll upload the first of the Montreal 1976 retrospectives.

Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

On Saturday night right after Speedway Kraków's razor-thin loss to Lokomotiv Daugavpils(44-46) I got to interview the home side's young Aussie rider Michael West. We talked about how Michael's journey turning left began at a pretty late age of 16, how he found his footing in Kraków after initially riding for Stal Gorzów's juniors, about the everlasting dangers of Speedway and about his love for Żabka salads!!!(Perhaps they should give him a discount for those...).

In the weekend's non-World Cup news: Lewy's Fire debut postponed due to Canadians apparently imposing a tariff on clean air, the Poland Volleyball boys going 4-for-4 in the Nations League, Tymek Kucharczyk has his head spinning and tyres beating on the oval in Nashville, and Anita Włodarczyk is still hammering 75-metre throws after turning forty.

Follow Michael West:

https://www.facebook.com/michaelwest08/

https://www.instagram.com/michaelwest08/

The fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak:

https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw