Daria Pikulik became the Olympic vice-champion in the cycling omnium on the track on Sunday. This is the 10th medal for the Polish national team in the event that ends on Sunday in the capital of France.
Daria Pikulik
/ERIK S. LESSER /PAP/EPA
Daria Pikulik didn’t start off well in the Omnium, or all-around cycling event. She came 14th in the first scratch competition, but the next ones were much better. She came third in the tempo race and moved up to seventh in the standings. She was 28 points behind the leading American, Jennifer Valente. She was only 10 points away from a medal position.
The next competition in the all-around was the elimination race (Australian), in which Jennifer Valente triumphed, followed by Georgia Baker and Maggie Coles-Lyster. The Pole was tenth, having been closed in one of the finishes.
In the last omnium competition, the points race, the Polish track cyclist rode the best of the whole field. She scored 59 points, while the American came in seventh and increased her points tally by only 26. The second result – 51 points – was taken by New Zealander Ally Wollaston, who “jumped” onto the podium from 12th position after three competitions.
Daria Pikulik advanced to the medal zone halfway through the race – 35 laps before the finish line, she advanced to second position for the first time. She didn’t hold it for long, after a while she was third, fourth and fifth. But she rode perfectly, 30 laps before the finish line she was fourth, equal in points with the Dane Amalia Dideriksen and only four points behind the second Australian Georgia Baker.
Later, the Pole pulled away from her rivals, along with the experienced Belgian Lotte Kopecky and Dutch Maike van der Duin. After a few more laps, the Polish track cyclist took second place, which she strengthened by taking second place in the last, double-point sprint.
First place went to American Jennifer Valente, and third place went to New Zealander Ally Wollaston.
Daria Pikulik, becoming the Olympic vice-champion in the omnium in Paris, won the fourth Polish medal in track cycling history, and the first in 52 years. In 1972 in Munich, the bronze medal was won in tandem by Andrzej Bek and Benedykt Kocot.
It is also the first medal for Poland in cycling since the Olympic Games since Rio de Janeiro in 2016. There, Rafał Majka won the bronze medal in the road race. In total, Polish cyclists of all specialties have won 12 Olympic medals – eight silver and four bronze.
The 27-year-old competitor, born in Skarżysko-Kamienna, won a bronze medal at the World Championships in omnium in Berlin in 2020, and also has two silver and four bronze medals at the European Championships in various track competitions.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk congratulated the Polish athlete on her success. “Daria Pikulik did brilliantly and won silver on the last day of the games. Polish women showed us how to fight! 8 medals for women, 2 for men,” wrote the head of the Polish government on X.
Daria Pikulik’s silver is the 10th medal for the Polish national team in the event in Paris, which ends on Sunday.
The only Polish Olympic champion in the French capital was Aleksandra Mirosław, who triumphed in the sport climbing against time. Third in the same competition was Aleksandra Kałucka.
In addition to the track cyclist, silver medals were won by mountain kayaker Klaudia Zwolińska in the K1 competition, the volleyball team, and boxer Julia Szeremeta in the 57 kg category.
In addition, places on the lowest step of the podium were won by: the women’s epee team, the women’s double sculls, tennis player Iga Świątek and Natalia Kaczmarek in the 400 m race.
Source: RMF24/PAP
