The staff of Polish jumpers has already been deleted. What about Doleżal? Second league rescue

– Oh God … I’m terribly angry and won’t comment on anything. I just don’t feel like talking about it. I don’t understand all of this. This is a disgrace – the broken vice-president of the Polish Ski Association, Andrzej Wąsowicz, told us. It was over six years ago. In January 2016 in Tauplitz Polish jumps had the last championship event without a medal. The last one until now.

Then on the mammoth hill Kulm jumped 134.5 meters in the qualification and did not enter the competition! Individually, the best Pole was 15 there. And our team took fifth place. Now the best Pole was also in the second “10” – he was in 11th place. Now our team also took fifth place. And now Kamil Stoch was not himself either. It wasn’t at all. He flew so briefly that he himself said that these were jumps, not flights. Of course, the Stoch had flights at 223.5 or 221.5 m, but he also had landings so short (175.5) that they would be followed.

Stoch individually took 22nd place. He was in 15th place, in 25th. Neither of them could be satisfied. Kubacki, who did not make it into the Polish four for qualifying due to poor training, could not, and only returned to the team, where he replaced the weakest Wąska.

Second league rescue. Coach Maciusiak is growing

The only Polish advantage of this championship is Free. But this championship is one big downside. So big that it highlights an entire failed season. From 2016, the last year of the coaching term, our jumpers had a great medal series. The pupils, and then from seven consecutive championship events, brought as many as 12 medals, including four gold. Let’s look at the details:

• World Cup 2017: 2 medals (team gold and veins bronze)
• World Ski Championships 2018: 2 medals (Stoch silver and team bronze)
• 2018 Olympics: 2 medals (Stoch gold and team bronze)
• World Cup 2019: 2 medals (Kubacki gold and Stoch silver)
• Ski flying World Championships 2020: 1 medal (team bronze)
• World Cup 2021: 2 medals (Vein gold and team bronze)
• Olympic Games 2022: 1st medal (Kubacki bronze).

Now under the leadership (Doleżal stayed at home because of a positive covid test) we saw the end of an era.

Unfortunately, not for a moment of the four-day World Championships in Vikersund flights we had no right to dream of a medal. Let us repeat: Jakub Wolny was the only positive Polish element of this championship. The man, who is 52nd, who did not fit in the frame for the Olympics, now saved the honor of our jumps.

Kuba worked with. During the unsuccessful winter, this coach stopped working with Doleżal and Sobczyk, and it is simply necessary to note that under his leadership, not only Free was revived, because in the second league, i.e. in the Continental Cup, Kacper Juroszek and Andrzej Stękała won, and they also jumped on the podiums Free, Aleksander Zniszczoł and Maciej Kot.

Maciusiak was able to correct the mistakes of these players, at least enough to make them count in the second league, in which they did not exist in the first part of the winter. However, among Poles still jumping in the World Cup, errors in inrun positions and very low speeds remain an unresolved problem. And when a jump starts badly, it can’t end well either.

Maciusiak is mentioned by the Polish Ski Association as one of the candidates for the head coach of the national team. This may not be the time and no place to judge how sensible this idea is (Maciusiak is listened to among younger jumpers, but he has never worked with Stoch and it is very possible that the old champion needs someone with a big surname who would once again inspire faith), but it is definitely time to come to terms with the fact that changes are necessary. Unfortunately, the mission of this staff is over. It is a pity that after many successes it ended in failure.

PS This does not mean that Michal Doleżal has to leave. The Czech in previous seasons proved that he is a professional. And it’s just worth having someone like that at home.