She spares no effort combining triathlon and... studying Algorithmic Computer Science at our Faculty. Last year she won three gold medals in the Polish Championships in the K20 category, and now she has even more ambitious goals. Zofia Kuriata from our Faculty is our guest in the #JestemzPWr#JestemzWIT cycle.

Zofia notes that diligence and perseverance are common denominators in the fields of sports and computer science. She is studying Algorithmic Computer Science at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, because of her ever-fondness of mathematics. She decided to study here even despite the lack of programming background. 

– I am satisfied with my decision to study at this Faculty. If I had to choose now, I would choose the same. It's hard, but interesting. I am glad that these two areas complement each other. While training, I can take a break from studying, and while studying, I can take a break from sports – says our student.

The passion for sports began during swimming trainings in primary school. In secondary school, Zofia started cycling more and got her first road bike. In high school, inspired by her uncle – a triathlon competitor and coach, she decided to add running to the mix. Her uncle is her coach now. Even though he lives in Switzerland, he monitors Zofia's progress and adjusts trainings via a training application. 

As Zofia notes, it is not easy to combine training with studies. In order to complete all activities, you have to plan the entire day in advance. You need to be a well-organized person to be able to combine two such distant and demanding passions.

Zofia devotes 9 to 14 hours a week to training. Triathlon is very time-consuming, but it is designed to be a great balance to mentally demanding studies. Our guest emphasizes the diversity of this sport.

– Triathlon is never boring and even if you have a minor injury, e.g. such that prevents you from running, you can still swim or ride a bike. The distances I run require me to invest all the power reserves from the start to the finish line. I have push with all I have for the entire hour which I spend on the track – he says for the #JestemzPWr series.

During the competition, triathletes must first swim 1.5 km, then cycle 40 km and finally run 10 km. Zofia mentions that she achieves her best results at half the Olympic distance and 1/8 of the Ironman distance. These are short distances that require just over an hour on the track.

– As we age, we lose speed, but we gain greater endurance. I want to use my dynamics, and there will be time for longer distances – she explains.

Zofia has been competing for three seasons. She upgrades her career to a professional level also by searching for sponsors. She documents her achievements on Instagram. She dreams of starting abroad, but for now finances remain the main obstacle. She is most proud of her personal best during duathlon: 18:53 at the 5 km distance.

As part of her craziest adventure and training, she told the #JestemzPWr series about a situation with her uncle, when they planned to ride a bike to seven mountain passes in the Alps, in one day. They set out at six in the morning and everything was going well, but as they reached the fifth pass, darkness fell and a storm broke out. For safety reasons, they interrupted the expedition, but they still covered a total of 216 km, including over 5,300 m of elevation gain.

Only last year, Zofia Kuriata won three gold medals in the Polish Championships in the K20 category. She can't wait for the new season to start. She plans to threaten competitors from higher age categories and stand on the top step of the podium of the Polish Championships in the open category. We keep our fingers crossed for our student!