Poland competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twentieth appearance at the Summer Olympics, having missed the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles because of the Soviet boycott. The Polish Olympic Committee (Polish: Polski Komitet Olimpijski, PKO) sent a total of 218 athletes to the Games, 130 men and 88 women, to compete in 22 sports.
Poland left London with a total of 11 Olympic medals (2 gold, 3 silver, and 6 bronze), tying with Beijing for the nation's highest overall number of medals. Two of the medals were awarded to the team in athletics, sailing, and weightlifting. Among the nation's medalists were shot putter Tomasz Majewski, who successfully defended his Olympic title from Beijing, and double sculls pair Magdalena Fularczyk and Julia Michalska, who became the first Polish women to claim an Olympic rowing medal in 32 years. Windsurfers Przemysław Miarczyński and Zofia Klepacka recaptured their nation's success in sailing, as they each won the bronze medal. Anita Włodarczyk, the silver medalist in the hammer throw, was upgraded to gold after Russian Tatyana Lysenko was disqualified for doping.
Several Polish athletes, however, suffered setbacks at these Olympic Games. Tennis player Agnieszka Radwańska, who ranked second by the Women's Tennis Association, was surprisingly eliminated in the first round of women's singles. Meanwhile, the men's indoor volleyball team, champions of the 2012 FIVB World League, failed to advance into the semi-finals for the third consecutive time, after losing to Russia in the quarterfinals. Star sailor and double Olympic medalist Mateusz Kusznierewicz, and the men's quadruple sculls team, led by Michał Jeliński, finished outside of the medal standings in the final race.
Medalists
Delegation
Polski Komitet Olimpijski (POK) selected a team of 218 athletes, 130 men and 88 women, to compete in 22 sports; it was the nation's fourth-largest team sent to the Olympics. Men's volleyball was the only team-based sport in which Poland had its representation in these Olympic Games. There was only a single competitor in boxing, equestrian eventing, rhythmic gymnastics, and taekwondo. Athletics was the largest team by sport, with a total of 60 competitors.
The Polish team included five past Olympic champions, two of them defending (shot putter Tomasz Majewski, and the men's quadruple sculls team, led by Michał Jeliński). Five Polish athletes, on the other hand, competed at their fifth Olympic Games: rowers Marek Kolbowicz and Adam Korol, sailor and double medalist Mateusz Kusznierewicz, hammer thrower and former champion Szymon Ziółkowski, and sprint kayaker and three-time medalist Aneta Konieczna. Dressage rider Katarzyna Milczarek, at age 46, was the oldest athlete of the team, while relay swimmer Diana Sokołowska was the youngest at age 17.
Other notable Polish athletes featured table tennis player Natalia Partyka, who competed for the second time at both Olympic and Paralympic games, swimmer and triple Olympic medalist Otylia Jędrzejczak in the women's butterfly event, double Olympic medalist Sylwia Gruchała in women's foil fencing, windsurfer and multiple-time world champion Przemysław Miarczyński, and sisters Agnieszka and Urszula Radwańska, who both played in the women's tennis doubles. Agnieszka Radwańska, who ranked second by the Women's Tennis Association, became the first Polish female flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
The following is the list of number of competitors participating in the Games:
Archery
Poland has qualified one archer for the men's individual event, and the other for the women's individual event.
Athletics
Polish athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):
- Men
- Track & road events
* Advanced by judges decision after being pushed by Kuwait's Mohammad Al-Azemi in the prelims.
- Field events
- Women
- Track & road events
- Field events
- Combined events – Heptathlon
Badminton
* Adam Cwalina / Michał Łogosz retired after first match. All matches after were valued as 0-21, 0-21
Boxing
- Women
Canoeing
Slalom
Sprint
- Men
- Women
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Cycling
Road
Track
- Sprint
- Team sprint
- Keirin
- Omnium
Mountain biking
Equestrian
Dressage
Eventing
Fencing
Poland has qualified 7 athletes.
- Men
- Women
Gymnastics
Artistic
- Men
- Women
Rhythmic
Judo
- Men
- Women
Modern pentathlon
Rowing
- Men
- Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
Poland has so far qualified 1 boat for each of the following events:
- Men
- Women
- Open
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;
Shooting
Poland has qualified for four quota places in shooting events;
- Women
Swimming
Polish swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):
- Men
- Women
Table tennis
Poland has qualified one athlete for singles table tennis events. Based on her world ranking as of 16 May 2011 Li Qian has qualified for the women's event.
Taekwondo
Poland has qualified 1 athlete.
Tennis
- Men
- Women
- Mixed
Triathlon
Volleyball
Poland has qualified men's teams for both the indoor tournament and the beach tournament.
- Men's indoor event – 1 team of 12 players
- Men's beach event – 1 team of 2 players
Men's beach tournament
Men's indoor tournament
- Team roster
The following is the Polish roster in the men's volleyball tournament of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Head coach: Andrea Anastasi
- Group play
- Quarter-finals
Weightlifting
Poland has qualified 6 men and 3 women.
- Men
- Women
Wrestling
Poland has qualified at least only four quota places in wrestling events.
- Men's Greco-Roman
- Women's freestyle
References
