Poland seeks 2nd ski jumping medal at Beijing 2022

WARSAW, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Polish Ski Association president Apoloniusz Tajner anticipated another medal from ski jumping team at the Winter Olympics and said "the athletes feel very well in Beijing."

The Poles didn't meet expectations before they went to China. However, in Zhangjiakou they have already shown quality as Dawid Kubacki finished third in the normal hill competition. Tajner hopes ski jumpers will add another medal for Poland in large hill on Saturday.

"Even before the Olympics, I felt that the bad fate would be over. The boys needed a rest and they were ruled out for almost three weeks. Piotr Zyla and Dawid Kubacki had COVID-19, and Kamil Stoch was injured. They needed mental rest," Tajner said in an interview with Polish media on Thursday.

Tajner indicated the reasons for weak performances from the Poles in earlier contests.

"There was no dynamic, no strength on the hill. But the athletes rested and the explosion came in Beijing. They were already doing very well in training. I was expecting Stoch or Zyla on the podium. Kubacki surprised me," he admitted.

The sports official is sure that on Saturday Poland will be close to take their second medal.

Coach Michal Dolezal is hoping for a new contract with the association. "Michal has a contract until April 30, 2022. We are open to further cooperation if everything goes well, but we should also remember that one of the parties may not always be satisfied with some form of cooperation or its continuation. However, I feel that the second part of the season will be good for us," Tajner added.