Monika Hojnisz’s sixth-place finish in the women’s 15km individual biathlon event was the best the country could hope for on day six of action at this year's Olympic Winter Games.
Alpine skiing
Polish Alpine skier Maryna Gąsienica-Daniel finished 27th in the women’s giant slalom on Thursday, with a combined two-run time of 2:25.69 -- 5.67 seconds behind the gold medal winner, Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States.
Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway claimed the silver, while Federica Brignone of Italy took the bronze.
Meanwhile, Poland’s Michał Kłusak finished 42nd in the men’s downhill event on Thursday, with a combined time of 1:45.42 -- 5.17 seconds behind Aksel Lund Svindal, a 35-year-old Norwegian who made Olympic history on Thursday as the oldest Alpine gold medalist.
Another Norwegian, Kjetil Jansrud, took the silver, while Beat Feuz of Switzerland earned the bronze.
Snowboarding
Poland’s Mateusz Ligocki placed 20th in the men’s snowboard cross after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
France’s Pierre Vaultier defended the gold he won at the previous winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, while Australia’s Jarryd Hughes took the silver, and Spain’s Regino Hernandez secured the bronze.
Cross-country skiing
Meanwhile, Sylwia Jaśkowiec secured 24th spot in the women’s cross-country skiing 10 km freestyle event, finishing 2 minutes and 21 seconds behind the race’s Norwegian winner, Ragnhild Haga, who clocked a time of 25:00.5.
Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla won the silver, while Norwegian veteran Marit Bjoergen, the most decorated female athlete in Olympic Winter Games history, tied for the bronze medal with Finn Krista Parmakoski.
Two other Poles competing in the event, Ewelina Marcisz and Martyna Galewicz, finished 42nd and 64th respectively.
Biathlon
Polish biathlete Grzegorz Guzik finished 33rd in the men’s 20-kilometre individual event, not a spectacular result by international standards but one of the biggest personal achievements for the 26-year-old Pole.
His countryman Andrzej Nędza-Kubiniec was 79th among 86 competitors. He missed five targets at the shooting range and finished a gaping 7 minutes, 36.1 seconds behind the gold medal winner, Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway.
Jakov Fak of Slovenia won the silver, while Austria’s Dominik Landertinger rounded off the podium with a bronze medal.
Luge
Poland missed its final potential chance for a medal on Thursday when its lugers Ewa Kuls-Kusyk, Maciej Kurowski, Wojciech Chmielewski and Jakub Kowalewski finished eighth in the team relay event, equalling the Polish team's performance from the 2014 Sochi Games.
Germany won the luge team relay, ahead of second-placed Canada and third-placed Austria.
Ski jumping
Meanwhile, Polish ski jumpers on Thursday excelled in training rounds ahead of Saturday's large hill competition at the Pyeongchang Olympics. They narrowly missed podium spots in the normal hill event last Saturday.
Poland's Sports and Tourism Minister Witold Bańka said ahead of the Games that it was realistic to expect that Polish athletes would bring home two to three medals from South Korea.
He has named ski jumping as Poland’s biggest chance of an Olympic medal at Pyeongchang.
(gs/pk)
Source: TVP, Eurosport, PAP