An outstanding achievement by our student during the Polish Academic Championships in classic powerlifting. Nina Bartl won gold medal in the under 84 kg category. We also have other athletes from our Faculty who can boast some successes: tennis player Wiktor Kowalski as well as Oliwia Borkowska, Jakub Besz, and Szymon Stano, who represent the university in beach volleyball. Congratulations!

Nina is a student of Algorithmic Computer Science. She participated in the Polish Academic Championships for the first time. She did not expect such a success. Her rivals in the classic powerlifting competition were really strong. But Nina showed her best in Katowice.

– I won gold in the under 84 kg category. I'm very pleased. In the entire event, I lifted a total of 477.5 kg. I also managed to set an academic Polish record in the squat. This is something I am very pleased with as well – explains Nina Bartl.

Her dream is to be selected for the World University Championships and to win the highest-ranking competition in Sheffield. Before Nina began her adventure with powerlifting, she trained alpine skiing for 7 years.

After many lean years

We can also be pleased with the result of the tennis players from WUST. We waited five years for their return to the Polish Academic Championship finals. This year they will be held in Katowice. The event will take place from 12 to 15 June. Our university representatives include Wiktor Kowalski from our Faculty.

– We will go there with the mindset that we have nothing to lose. We have already achieved one of our goals. We earned our way to the finals from fifth place, keeping in mind that it hadn't happened in a long time. 6 teams qualified. In the finals, we hope for a medal in the technical universities category – says Wiktor Kowalski.

Victor started playing tennis when he was 5 years old. At the beginning it was just for fun. Then he played in tournaments, and when he started his studies, he joined the lawn tennis section.

Silver on sand

Three representatives of our Faculty in beach volleyball took the second step of the podium in the Lower Silesian Intercollegiate League. In men's category, Jakub Besz and Szymon Stano won silver. Their result allowed them to qualify to the Polish Academic Championships.

– There is definitely a lot of excitement. We want to improve our performance from last year. Back then we were so close to reaching the final. The expectations are huge – notes Jakub Besz.

Our athletes will now start in the semi-finals of the Polish Academic Championships. There are going to be 32 teams. 8 will qualify for the final.

– There's always a bit of stress. But above all, we are motivated to go as far as possible. To invest a great deal of work into the preparations. Unfortunately, the weather is not in our favour. During our last training, it was 8 degrees and raining – says Szymon Stano.

A place in the Championships also went to the women's pair with Oliwia Borkowska, a student from our Faculty. She claims that she will do her best in the upcoming semi-finals. Before she started playing beach volleyball, she played indoor volleyball.

– Beach volleyball is more demanding. There is also greater responsibility because you play with just one partner. If something doesn't work out, you can't ask for substitution. An additional difficulty is the weather conditions. It's always either too hot or too rainy, and the sand doesn't make it any easier – explains Oliwia Borkowska.

The semi-final of the Championships in beach volleyball, featuring our athletes, will take place on 1-2 June in Dąbrowa Górnicza. Fingers crossed!