This was the MKS Bolesłavia Bolesławiec athlete’s third start in the six-event competition this year. On May 3–4 in Wrocław, he scored 3,786 points. 11.71/+1.9/-6.12/0.0/- 9.22-15.31/0.0/-44.22-2:55.55.
On August 22–23 in Chojnice, he scored 3,902 points—42 points more than Patryk Baran’s record. 11.98/+1.0/-6.46/+0.8/-10.26-15.27/+1.0/-46.55-2:56.12.
On October 4–5 in Zielona Góra, he achieved 4,033 points. 11.66/1.5-6.51/1.6-11.29-15.46/0.9-49.34-2:58.70.
He began Saturday’s competition by setting personal bests in the first three events, improved his fourth in the javelin throw, and, of course, set his fifth in the six-event competition.
Mateusz is very tall and slender; at 192 cm, he weighs just 66 kg.
His coach, 39-year-old Bartosz Gruman—once a Polish champion and four-time Polish runner-up in the 400-metre hurdles, and now president of MKS Bolesłavia Bolesławiec—is especially pleased with the personal best in the javelin throw, considering his athlete’s physical characteristics. He is not worried about the change in age category: Mateusz already successfully competed in the junior under-18 decathlon in June this year. The 110-metre hurdles, with a 9.14-metre spacing, will actually be more comfortable for him to clear.
At the recent Polish Under-16 Championships in Zielona Góra, Mateusz won the gold medal in the high jump and silver in the hurdles. His personal best in the former event is 2.01; only two of our under-16 athletes have jumped higher in history: Sylwester Bednarek (2.06) and Jarosław Kotewicz (2.04). But according to coach Gruman, this does not necessarily have to be Mateusz’s target event. For now, he will train for the decathlon.
The coaches working with Bartosz Gruman are Paweł Wiśniewski, a high-jump specialist, and Tomasz Markowski, a throwing coach.
pzla.pl