The Pole was already at the forefront of the world. Why didn’t it work out? He blames PZN

For the leader of the Polish team, the upcoming games will be the third in his career. So far, however, he has had no good memories of them. In Sochi, where he was to fight for the top 30 for the first time, he collapsed in the qualifying round. It ended in the 67th place and in tears. – When I look at it in retrospect, I can see that I approached the first Olympics on the basis of my youthful ambition and I was well prepared for the sprint there. It did not work out and I have to say that I survived this collapse in Sochi, she recalls.

– Second Olympics … I wanted too much to show that this is the moment. If I wanted to prove to myself that if not now, then never again, that later I’ll be too old. Before the Olympics I had an injury and instead of focusing on competitions, I started chasing training. There was probably too much of him to be able to attend the Olympics – he alludes to his unsuccessful performance in where he was not promoted to thirty. It is true that the sprint was a classic and not his favorite freestyle, but even so, ambitions did not allow him to return from Korea with a raised head.

The players were satisfied with the coach. But the relationship fired him

The years preceding the 2018 Olympics were difficult for Staręga, not only because of an injury. In the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, the runner already caught up with the world leaders, was able to advance to the World Cup finals or to take the eighth place at the world championships. Today, he emphasizes the important contribution that the coach of the Polish team at the time, Miroslav Petrasek, had to his development and progress. The problem is that the promising cooperation ended after the 2015/16 season – the Polish Ski Association, contrary to earlier announcements, dismissed the Czech from the function.

– It seems to me that if the union decided then to continue cooperation with Petrasek, the entire cross-country skiing in our country would be in a completely different place than now – says Sport.pl Starêga. – I don’t know if it would be great, but it could be better than now. After all, Petrasek is the man behind the successes of Lukas Bauer, our current trainer, who is modeled on his trainer – says Starêga today.

Petrask players trusted, but union bosses were not satisfied. – He was a top-class coach and his salary was high enough, and we really have one player who stands out, said Apoloniusz Tajner, president of PZN, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency. As you can see, for one it was not worth trying, even a year longer. Perhaps the others needed even a year?

“I then missed a voice from someone who would tell me not to go in that direction”

Starêga, who even took the fifth place in one World Cup competition in the 2015/16 season, lost his coach. The more so as it did not end with one shift. After Petrask’s departure, Janusz Krê¿elok returned to the staff, whose relationship had been thrown out earlier by, among others, for being arrogant and focusing on counting money more than training players. His first season after his return resulted in his eighth place in the Staręga at the World Championships in Lahti, but it is hard to resist the impression that the cooperation with Petrasek was also fruitful.

In the 2017/2018 Olympic season, the Polish team had already scored a huge hole and, as a result, Janusz Krê¿elok was abandoned. Tadeusz Krêżelok was hired for a year, but his efforts did not bring the expected results. Continuous staff turmoil did not have a good effect on Starêga, who was getting older and older, and age plays a significant role in the sprint.

That is why an experienced runner prepared himself for the Olympics in Pyongyang. The trainer did not help, he did not disturb, but neither did he intervene. If it was a bad move on the part of Staręga, why did no one protest? – Maybe I didn’t have a voice then from someone who would tell me not to go in that direction – the runner wonders today. – On the other hand, I don’t know if I would have listened. There was a belief in me that this training had to be caught up because I had lost my time due to an injury. However, some things are viewed differently in retrospect, adds 32-year-old Starêga.

Bauer has restored hope, but goals are completely different

After the coaching turmoil, he finally took over the team, who in his career stood on the Olympic podium three times, twice won the medals of the world championships, and 14 years ago even won the Crystal Ball of the Polish Championship. Under his supervision, Poles made significant progress. Last season, when runners had many health and organizational problems, was still unsuccessful. But now three of our runners have scored points in the World Cup again. Starêga, who has reasons to dream of the best Olympic games in his career, regularly belongs to thirty sprints.

– I must admit that the previous seasons were the foundations for this Olympic one. For a sprinter, I did a lot of work. I know that there are players who run and train more, and at distances, they can also do better, but I refer it to their abilities. I will risk saying that our cooperation with the trainer this year was the best and also the preparation period was the best in my career. In fact, I am convinced of it. I know what I can do – says the multiple Polish champion. And he adds that at the Olympics he finally hopes to be promoted to the quarter-final.

– It’s hard for me to say how it will be with the semi-final. If I could get promoted to it, it would be a great success for me and such a culmination of my career. I think it is within reach, but with a good day and good luck. When all the pieces of the puzzle come together, it is achievable – stated the best Polish runner.