Finals day in Poznań: triple golds for Nowak and Piasecka, Posnania top the table
- Published
- 2026-06-01T08:53:53+00:00
Full competition results: 2nd Polish Canoe Sprint Cup — Youth, Junior and U23 Qualifying Regatta
Sunday's 500m and 1000m finals closed the 2nd Polish Cup in Canoe Sprint — Qualifying Regatta for Youth, Juniors and U23 on Lake Malta in Poznań, and the brightest figure of the whole weekend turned out to be Sandra Nowak. The KS Warta Poznań junior won the canoe over 500m and 1000m on 31 May 2026, and combined with her Friday 200m gold she completed the full set of three titles across every distance in her category.
The final day handed out 21 sets of medals and produced the regatta's strongest stories: a second junior women's triple gold, U23 doubles, and the first major titles for the youngest generation, born in 2012. After two days of tension — the sprint Friday and the merciless Saturday selection — Sunday at Malta set the definitive hierarchy of Polish youth canoeing ahead of the national team's summer races.
Overview
| Rank | Club | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KS Posnania Poznań | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | KS Warta Poznań | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | KS AZS-AWF Poznań | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | KS GPower Gorzów | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | UMKS Zryw Wolsztyn | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | KS Wiskord Szczecin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | KS Admira Gorzów | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
The table covers the whole weekend (200/500/1000m). It lists clubs; some medals were won by athletes with no club affiliation recorded in the database, so the club medal totals do not cover every event.
The medal standings are a snapshot of the strength of two centres. At the top stood KS Posnania Poznań — three golds, three silvers, a bronze — ahead, on titles, of the deepest squad of the entire regatta, CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz, which amassed nine medals. Third was another Poznań club, KS Warta Poznań, with a set of three golds — all won in the junior women's canoe. Greater Poland made a strong host statement on its own course, but right behind it came the centres from Gorzów Wielkopolski: KS GPower Gorzów and KS Admira Gorzów together took home ten medals, mostly from the longer distances.
Star of the regatta: two junior women's triple golds
Sunday's story is, above all, two junior women who won everything they could. Sandra Nowak (born 2009) dominated the junior women's canoe: after gold over 200m she added wins over 500m (2:14.50) and 1000m (4:45.75). In both longer finals, silver went to her KS Warta Poznań clubmate Martyna Rassak — the Poznań pair monopolised two podium steps, making Warta the strongest national school of junior women's canoeists in this age group.
Exactly the same feat — three golds over three distances — was recorded in the kayak by Julia Piasecka (2008) of CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz. After her Friday 200m triumph she won the 500m (1:57.11) and 1000m (4:09.47), each time fending off Milena Włodarczyk of UKS COPAL Trzcianka, who twice finished just behind her. Two athletes, two different boats, the same clean sweep — the strongest evidence that the junior women's elite already has clearly defined leaders ahead of the summer championships.
U23 doubles: the power of tomorrow's seniors
In the regatta's oldest category, U23, double wins set the tone. Mikołaj Walulik of KS Posnania Poznań added a K1 500m win (1:41.21) to his Friday 200m gold, confirming his status as the best sprinter of the whole event. In the U23 canoe, Kacper Sieradzan of KS Wiskord Szczecin pulled off an analogous double over 500m and 1000m. His 500m win was one of the most dramatic finals of the day: 1:51.69 gave him an advantage of just fifteen hundredths of a second over Patryk Stasiełowicz (1:51.84) of OKSW Olsztyn.
A third double, spread across two distances in one boat, was recorded by Patrycja Szymańska of KS AZS-AWF Poznań: after her 200m canoe gold she also won the 500m (2:15.10). The fastest U23 distance man, meanwhile, was Tomasz Burko of KS Admira Gorzów, who clocked 3:42.25 in the K1 1000m — the best men's time over that distance in the entire regatta.
The youngest champions: the 2012 generation reaches the podium
Sunday was also the first big day for the youngest category — the youth athletes born in 2012, who contested finals over 500m and 1000m. In the girls' canoe over 500m, the win went to Maria Lewandowska of UKS Włókniarz Chełmża (2:41.48), and in the kayak to Aleksandra Głogowska of KS GPower Gorzów (2:06.34). Among the boys over 1000m, the canoe gold went to Ivan Bashak, also of UKS Włókniarz Chełmża (4:45.57), while the kayak's fastest was Tomasz Angielczyk of OŚ AZS Politechniki Poznańskiej (4:04.59).
These are names worth remembering, because several of them were already scoring at the spring season opener — Bashak once again confirmed that in the youth canoe he is a model of consistency. A fuller picture of this generation's start is given by our analysis of the Piszcz Memorial — the 2026 season opener, where these same athletes took their first steps at Malta.
Other resolutions: trading blows over every distance
Beyond the triple titles, Sunday brought a whole series of finals in which medals circulated among the same names depending on the distance. In the U23 women's kayak, Zofia Więcławska of KSC Olsztyn won the 500m (1:55.62), but over 1000m she had to yield to Weronika Marczewska of UKS Kopernik Bydgoszcz, who won in 4:07.32. The same trio — with Martyna Jaskólska of UKS COPAL Trzcianka — swapped podium places all weekend, showing how even the U23 women's national elite is.
A twin scenario unfolded among the junior men's kayakers. Over 500m the fastest was Maciej Bargiel of KS GPower Gorzów (1:44.45), but over 1000m the gold was taken by Mikołaj Kaźmierczak of UMKS Zryw Wolsztyn, ahead of Adam Kuściński of KS Admira Gorzów. In the junior canoe, Jakub Kawka reached for a second title by winning the 500m, while over 1000m the best was Oskar Dekowski.
In the younger junior category, UKS Victoria Wałcz made a strong mark: in the kayak over 1000m, Fortunat Łakomy (3:51.28) and Antoni Foltyn took first and third place. Gold in this category also went to Maja Szczepaniak of UMKS Zryw Wolsztyn (K1 500m) and Aleksandra Kalisz (C1 500m), while in the boys' canoe over 1000m Wojciech Miśkiewicz of KS Posnania Poznań triumphed, adding another title for the hosts.
Margins and razor-thin finals
Sunday's finals were settled within narrow margins that best capture the depth of the national field. In the junior women's canoe over 1000m there was a rare tie for silver: Martyna Rassak and Amelia Turczyk finished with an identical time of 4:51.05, sharing second place behind Sandra Nowak. In the youth men's kayak over 1000m, two hundredths of a second decided the podium order — Artem Danilov (4:05.33) edged clubmate Piotr Klisiewicz (4:05.35) by that margin, giving KS GPower Gorzów second and third place in a single race.
The Gorzów club was, in fact, the most effective forge of distance racers on Sunday — seven medals won in the 500m and 1000m finals, the most of any centre that day. From Maciej Bargiel's gold in the junior K1 500m, through Głogowska's youth title, to a silver-and-bronze double among the youth boys, GPower proved it builds its edge precisely where endurance counts, not just sprint explosiveness.
What's next
The qualifying regatta did its job: it built the national rankings and identified team candidates ahead of the summer's key events. Closest to national-team goals are the U23 and junior athletes who will fight for places at the European Junior and U23 Championships (23–26 July). The domestic calendar still holds the Polish Junior Championships (contested within the National Youth Olympiad) and the Polish Youth Championships, where the leaders of this regatta — Sandra Nowak, Julia Piasecka and the 2012 generation — will defend their spring form.
The bracket around the season remains the August World Championships in Poznań (26–30 August) — held on the same Lake Malta where the youth raced in spring. For many of these athletes it is the best possible motivation: to watch from the stands as the world's best seniors compete on their course, and to set themselves a target for the years ahead.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the best athlete of the 2nd Polish Cup in Poznań?
The most titles went to two junior women: Sandra Nowak of KS Warta Poznań in the canoe and Julia Piasecka of CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz in the kayak — each won all three distances (200, 500 and 1000m) in her category.
Which club won the regatta's medal table?
By number of gold medals, the best was KS Posnania Poznań (3 golds, 7 medals in total). The most medals overall — nine — were won by CWZS Zawisza Bydgoszcz, the same total as KS AZS-AWF Poznań.
What was the fastest men's 1000m time?
Tomasz Burko of KS Admira Gorzów won the U23 K1 1000m A final in 3:42.25 — the fastest men's run over that distance during the entire regatta.
Does KS Warta Poznań have the best junior women's canoe school in the country?
The data suggests so: in the junior women's canoe over 500m and 1000m, Warta's athletes took first and second place both times (Sandra Nowak ahead of Martyna Rassak). A monopoly over two distances, backed by Nowak's triple gold, is the strongest argument for the claim of the best national training group in this event in the 2008–2009 age group.
Is the 2012 generation the future of Polish canoeing?
Sunday delivered four youth titles for this generation — Maria Lewandowska, Aleksandra Głogowska, Ivan Bashak and Tomasz Angielczyk. The strongest premise, however, is not a single medal but consistency — Bashak wins the youth canoe regularly, from the spring season opener to the final at Malta. This is a generation in an age window that typically reaches the senior peak in another 8–12 years.
Is KS GPower Gorzów the most effective forge of distance racers in the country?
In this regatta — over the longer distances — yes. The club won seven medals in the 500m and 1000m finals, the most of any centre that day, including golds from Bargiel and Głogowska and a silver-and-bronze double among the youth boys. It is a haul built on endurance rather than sprint, which sets the Gorzów model apart from the Poznań clubs that dominated the 200m.
Sunday's finals at Malta produced the heroes of the whole weekend — from Sandra Nowak's triple gold, through the doubles of Mikołaj Walulik and Kacper Sieradzan, to the first major titles of the 2012 generation. Ahead of them lies a summer with the European Junior and U23 Championships and a home World Championships in Poznań, which for all of Polish canoeing will be the season's true test.