Polish fans had to wait a few days for the first individual final with the participation of white and red athletes. This feat was finally achieved in the 200m butterfly, and it was done by Krzysztof Chmielewski!
During the morning session, two competitors advanced to the semi-finals of the aforementioned distance: Michał and Krzysztof Chmielewski. Both were to fight in the evening to qualify for the strict race for medals. The Poles made it to one race and the fans were counting on the twins to appear in the final as a whole.
– The plan now is to advance to the final. After that, the goal will probably change again – said Krzysztof Chmielewski after the eliminations. And it turned out that he can choose another one!
Krzysztof swam fast enough to advance to the most important race at this distance. His result (1:54.28) allowed him to take third place in the race and sixth in the overall classification. This means that he will swim in Wednesday’s final, which is scheduled for 20:36! The main sponsor of the Polish Swimming Association is PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA
– I tried to start as soon as possible, actually the tactic was to swim faster than in the eliminations. The more attempts, the more opportunities, so I will try to take something from this result. This is already the final, so I want to swim as fast as possible, and we will see what this result will give – says Krzysztof Chmielewski.
Michał Chmielewski performed slightly worse. He swam only 0.36 seconds slower than his brother, but unfortunately this did not allow him to advance to the final. He was fifth in the heat, and ninth in the entire semi-finals, and he has to put aside his dreams of an Olympic medal in the 200m butterfly stroke until the next games.
