2024-08-11, 14:55 Polish Press Agency
Daria Pikulik won the silver Olympic medal in track cycling in the omnium. This was the last start of the Polish representative in the Paris Games.
First place went to American Jennifer Valente, and third place went to New Zealander Ally Wollaston.
The Omnium, or all-around cycling event, didn’t start well for the Pole. She came 14th in the first scratch competition. But things were much better in the next ones. She came third in the tempo race and moved up to seventh in the standings. She was 28 points behind the leading American. She was only 10 points away from a medal position.
The next competition in the all-around was the elimination race (Australian), in which Valente triumphed, followed by Georgia Baker and Maggie Coles-Lyster. The Pole was tenth, having been closed in one of the finishes.
She advanced to the medal zone halfway through the distance.
In the last omnium competition, in the points race, Pikulik rode the best of the entire field. She scored 59 points, while the American came in seventh and increased her points tally by only 26. Wollaston came in second with 51 points, having jumped onto the podium from 12th position after three competitions.
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, Pikulik moved into second position, which she strengthened by taking second place in the last, double-point sprint.
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.
The fourth such medal in Polish history!
Daria Pikulik, becoming the Olympic vice-champion in the omnium in Paris, won the fourth medal in Polish track cycling history, and the first in 52 years. In 1972 in Munich, Andrzej Bek and Benedykt Kocot won bronze in a tandem.
In total, Polish cyclists of all disciplines have won 12 Olympic medals – eight silver and four bronze.
The Polish national team finishes the games with 10 medals
This is the tenth medal, and the fourth silver medal, won by the Polish representatives in Paris. The only Polish Olympic champion in Paris was Aleksandra Mirosław, who triumphed in the sport climbing against time. Third in the same competition was Aleksandra Kałucka.
In addition to Pikulik, silver medals were won by whitewater kayaker Klaudia Zwolińska in the K1 competition, the volleyball team, and boxer Julia Szeremeta in the 57-kilogram 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-meter race.
