From 7 to 9 March, the Polish Championships in the under-14 and under-15 categories were held in Olsztyn and Gliwice. The athletes coached by Krzysztof Wróbel and Wiktor Łodyga performed excellently. Agata Knapik and Iza Tkaczyk (both aged 14) competed against 276 of the best female athletes from 136 clubs.
Iza made an excellent start on the first day of the championships. In the 200 m backstroke heats, after improving her personal best by more than 5 seconds, the swimmer advanced to the B final with the sixteenth-fastest time. There, she gave her rivals no chance and, improving her personal best by a further 2.80 seconds, ultimately finished 10th in Poland (2:26.58).
The second day began with an outstanding performance by Agata. In the 50 m butterfly, she improved her personal best by 1.45 seconds and advanced to the B final with the fourteenth-fastest time. She finished third there, ultimately placing 13th in Poland and once again improving her best result.
In the 200 m individual medley, Agata improved her personal best by 9 seconds and advanced to the A final with the seventh-fastest time. It was the first A-final qualification achieved by a UKS Oxpress athlete in the club's history. In the final, Agata showed that she was capable of a great deal. Bravely fending off her rivals' attacks and demonstrating tremendous determination, she ultimately finished 7th in Poland.
Iza also fought brilliantly that day. After advancing to the B final, she finished seventh there, placing 17th overall.
On the final day of the championships, the girls competed in the 100 m individual medley. Iza advanced to the A final with the tenth-fastest time, improving her personal best by 9.04 seconds, while Agata advanced with the ninth-fastest time, improving her personal best by 4.22 seconds.
In the A final, the girls, competing despite tremendous fatigue and against their rivals, ultimately secured 9th place (Agata – 1:09.52) and 10th place (Iza – 1:09.82).
During the same period, the Polish Championships in the under-15 category were held in Gliwice. UKS Oxpress was represented by Klaudia Petters. The club's athlete competed against 261 of the best female athletes from 203 clubs and secured 22nd place in the 200 m backstroke (2:34.36) and 31st place in the 100 m backstroke, significantly improving her personal bests.
In the overall ranking, taking into account the number of places secured in the A and B finals, UKS Oxpress finished 3rd in Lower Silesia, behind Juvenia Wrocław and Śląsk Wrocław.
(information: UKS Oxpress/ii)