– It was a very good meeting. In the end we all came to an agreement. There will be no changes in the composition of the Polish team for the Olympics – said the triumphant Radosław Piesiewicz clearly.
– I don’t treat it as a failure. I’m glad we had the opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings. Of course, we disagreed on who should go to the Olympics. However, there is no doubt that the final decision belongs to the Polish Olympic Committee and I cannot question that. We have agreed with the president that this meeting ends our dispute, and from now on only the good of the national team counts – commented Adam Małysz.
The president of the PZN once again admitted his mistake in not calling up alpine skier Aniela Sawicka. In the future, he promised that the national coach, not the activists, would have the key opinion on the selection of players. During the three-hour meeting, doubts were also raised about the functioning of the Polish Olympic Committee, but in this case there were no specific conclusions. This ending of the meeting is not a surprise, because it had already seemed that changing the unanimous decision of the POC management board was unlikely.
Adam Małysz was the first to appear at the meeting. Just before the scheduled time, the president of the Polish Olympic Committee, Radosław Piesiewicz, and the secretary of the organization, Marek Pałus, appeared in the ministry building. The former managed to assure the gathered journalists that there was no question of withdrawing the approved Olympic nominations. Piesiewicz was confident from the beginning, which did not herald a compromise solution.
Let us recall that on Monday it was announced that the POC board unanimously overturned the PZN’s decisions and approved other nominations – instead of Nikola Komorowska, Aniela Sawicka will go to Cortina, and Piotr Habdas‘ place will be taken by Michał Jasiczek. This second nomination in particular – approved against the will of the Polish Football Association – caused enormous confusion.
WATCH THE VIDEO: PZN changes its decision. Adam Małysz: “It was a big mistake!”
In reaction to this decision, Adam Małysz in an open letter called on the Polish Olympic Committee to withdraw the nomination and reinstate Habdas to the Olympic team. – We believe that the Polish Olympic Committee’s decision was made on the basis of incomplete or false information and without reliable knowledge of the qualification system in force in the Polish Olympic Committee. We are unable to take responsibility for the current health condition of Michał Jasiczek, much less his “anti-doping cleanliness”, and we will immediately inform the FIS about this position, pointing out that the Polish Olympic Committee takes over such responsibility by appointing this athlete against the recommendation and resolution of the Management Board of the Polish Ski Association – wrote the PZN in an open letter to President Piesiewicz.
Only later it turned out that Michał Jasiczek, nominated by the Polish Olympic Committee, had not been subjected to anti-doping tests even once in the last four years.
The head of the Polish Olympic Committee was sure he was right and had no mercy for Małysz. – If he can’t cope, he should leave! Being an outstanding athlete does not always make you a great manager. This was shown in such a drastic violation of the PZN regulations – emphasized Piesiewicz in an interview for Radio Zet.
Mateusz Puka, journalist of WP SportoweFakty
