Damian Żurek will compete in his signature event, the 500m, after narrowly missing a medal in the 1000m on Wednesday, finishing just 0.07 seconds off the podium.
This season, the 26-year-old speed skater from Tomaszów Mazowiecki has been in peak form. He holds second place in the overall World Cup standings for both the 500m and 1000m, trailing only American Jordan Stolz, who already secured an Olympic gold medal in the longer distance at the Mediolan-Cortina 2026 Games. Żurek defeated Stolz twice at the end of January in the final World Cup competitions before the Olympics in Inzell, Germany.
Marek Kania and Piotr Michalski are as well set to compete on the shortest distance. Michalski came close to a podium finish at the previous Games in Beijing, finishing fourth in the 1000m and fifth in the 500m, missing out on a medal by just 0.08 and 0.03 seconds, respectively.
Competition will also commence in Predazzo with the ski jumping competition on the large hill, featuring silver medalist from the normal hill event, Kacper Tomasiak, alongside Kamil Stoch and Paweł Wąsek.
19-year-old Tomasiak is in his debut season on the World Cup circuit. While he has yet to reach the podium in individual events, he achieved a significant milestone at the most vital competition of the quadrennial, securing a silver medal in Predazzo on Monday.
Additionally on Saturday, biathletes will compete in a 7.5km sprint (Joanna Jakieła, Anna Mąka, Natalia Sidorowicz, Kamila Żuk), the women’s 4×7.5km cross-country ski relay (Aleksandra Kołodziej, Izabela Marcisz, Eliza Rucka-Michałek, Monika Skinder), and in short track, Michał Niewiński and Felix Pigeon will race in the 1500m, while Natalia Maliszewska and Gabriela Topolska will compete in the 1000m.
Winter Olympic Games on Saturday, February 14th. Polish Athlete Start Times. When?
biathlon
2:45 PM sprint on 7.5 km K (Joanna Jakieła, Anna Mąka, Natalia Sidorowicz, Kamila Żuk)
cross-country skiing
12:00 PM 4×7.5 km K relay (Aleksandra Kołodziej, Izabela Marcisz, Eliza Rucka-Michałek, Monika Skinder)
speed skating
5:00 PM 500 m M (Marek Kania, Piotr Michalski, Damian Żurek)
short track
8:15 PM 1500 m M, quarterfinals (Michał Niewiński, Felix Pigeon)
8:01 PM 1000 m K, qualifications (Natalia Maliszewska, Gabriela Topolska)
8:49 PM 1500 m M, semifinals
9:35 PM 1500 m M, final B
9:42 PM 1500 m M, final A
ski jumping
6:45 PM large hill M, 1st round of competition (Kamil Stoch, Kacper Tomasiak, Paweł Wąsek)
7:57 PM large hill M, 2nd round of competition
BS, PAP
