Last weekend, the Polish Night and Relay Orienteering Championships were held near Zamość. UKS Tukan Iwiny was represented by: Marek Wojnowicz, Mateusz Madej and Wojciech Pachnik.
On Friday, an individual night race was held, in which Tukan coach Dariusz Pachnik also competed, winning a bronze medal in the M-40 veterans’ category. Wojciech finished 10th in the juniors’ category, Mateusz was fifteenth, and Marek nineteenth.
The real excitement began on Sunday during the relay race. The coach quietly hoped for a bronze medal. The relay teams from Łódź and Pabianice included junior national-team athletes who had, among other achievements, won European Championship medals. It seemed that the title would be contested between them.
However, things turned out differently. Marek Wojnowicz ran the first leg and reached the finish fourth. Mateusz Madej set off on the second leg. He quickly made up the deficit, but made several mistakes (he checked in in second place). The favored Orientuś Łódź relay team took the lead.
Michał Olejnik, a multiple Polish Championship medalist and European Championship medalist, ran the third leg for Azymut Pabianice. As expected, Rafał Podziński of Orientuś Łódź was first to appear at the viewing point. Wojciech Pachnik arrived second, while Olejnik reached it only three and a half minutes later, and it seemed that he would not make up the deficit.
Podziński was the first to reach the finish, winning gold for Łódź. The Tukan athlete had a chance to take second place. Unfortunately, he made a mistake, and the runner from Pabianice managed to make up the deficit. They ran together to the finish. At one point, however, Pachnik launched an attack and took the lead, which he held until the end. The UKS Tukan Iwiny relay team won the silver medal.
Results:
- Orientuś Łódź
- UKS Tukan Iwiny
- Azymut Pabianice.
(information: Dariusz Pachnik/ii)