Puławska leads, Putto returns after a year out, a debutante in the four: inside Poland's Wałcz squad for the home Worlds in Poznań
- Published
- 2026-06-02T15:36:14+00:00
Puławska leads, Putto returns after a year out, a debutante in the four: inside Poland's Wałcz squad for the home Worlds in Poznań
On 1–2 June 2026 the Polish Canoe Federation (PZKaj) published a full wave of call-ups for June training camps and squad sessions — seniors through juniors, across kayak, canoe, paracanoe and slalom. The hub, once again, is the COS OPO centre in Wałcz, and the calendar leaves no doubt about the stakes: the home World Championships in Poznań (26–30 August) for the seniors, and the Junior & U23 World Championships in Halifax (1–5 July) for the younger ranks.
This piece breaks the call-ups down: full squads, the names that stand out, and — most importantly — virtual crews for the upcoming races, grounded in the called-up athletes' previous shared starts.
Call-up overview (1–2 June 2026)
| Category | Action | Venue | Dates | Called up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior women K | Camp | Wałcz | 21.06–05.07 | 7 |
| Senior men K | Camp | Wałcz | 21.06–05.07 | 7 |
| Senior women C | Camp | Wałcz | 21.06–05.07 | 5 |
| U23 women K | Camp | Wałcz | 07.06–18.06 | 7 |
| U23 men K | Camp | Wałcz | 07.06–18.06 | 7 |
| U23 women C | Camp | Wałcz | 21.06–28.06 | 4 |
| U23 men C | Camp | Wałcz | 31.05–18.06 | 6 |
| Junior men K | Camp | Wałcz | 14.06–28.06 | 8 |
| Junior women K | Camp | Wałcz | 12.06–28.06 | 8 |
| Junior C (women & men) | Camp | Wałcz | 07.06–28.06 | 11 |
| Paracanoe | Race / camp | Montemor-o-Velho (POR) / Wałcz | 08.06–14.06 / 19.06–04.07 | 5 / 3 |
| Slalom seniors | Consultation + World Cup | Prague (CZE) | 31.05–07.06 | 11 |
These are call-ups to training camps, not start nominations — the federation itself stresses that squad membership is not the same as being named for a given competition. Still, camp rosters are the best available signal of who sits in the inner circle ahead of the summer's target events.
Who's heading to Wałcz — full kayak squads
Senior men (coach Ryszard Hoppe): Wojciech Pilarz, Jakub Stepun, Sławomir Witczak, Wiktor Leszczyński, Przemysław Korsak, Valerii Vichev, Piotr Morawski.
Senior women (coaches incl. Zbigniew Kowalczuk, Grzegorz Łabędzki): Adrianna Kąkol, Julia Olszewska, Dominika Putto, Anna Puławska, Martyna Klatt, Katarzyna Kościółek, Sandra Ostrowska.
U23 men (coach Jakub Cebula): Mateusz Kubalski, Igor Komorowski, Mikołaj Walulik, Mikołaj Kot, Kacper Jastrząb, Norbert Midloch, Tomasz Burko.
U23 women (coach Tomasz Szwed): Zofia Więcławska, Dominika Zimnoch, Weronika Marczewska, Martyna Jaskólska, Zuzanna Błażejczak, Maja Łuczak, Wiktoria Loba.
Junior men (coaches Piotr Pilarski, Michał Garstkiewicz): Mikołaj Kaźmierczak, Paweł Szott, Damian Zawistowski, Dawid Kwaśniewski-Droździel, Adam Kuściński, Szymon Witkowski, Maciej Bargiel, Bartosz Kulpa.
Junior women (coach Piotr Mazur): Julia Piasecka, Anastazja Michalska, Oliwia Borucka, Milena Włodarczyk, Martyna Kowalska, Kinga Chojnacka, Julia Kamieniecka, Anna Sułkowska.
Beyond the kayak, PZKaj also called up canoe athletes (senior, U23 and junior), paracanoe paddlers for the European regatta in Montemor-o-Velho and separately for a Wałcz camp, and a strong slalom squad for the World Cup in Prague, led by Klaudia Zwolińska.
Anna Puławska — the squad's leader
If the Polish team has a face going into the home World Championships, it is Anna Puławska. Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo 2020 in the K-2 500 m (with Karolina Naja) and bronze medallist there in the K-4 500 m, she is the most decorated athlete in the group — and one of the few travelling to Wałcz as a guaranteed leader rather than a line-up candidate.
The form is there. In 2025 Puławska won World Cup races in the K-1 over 200 and 500 m, and in spring 2026 she stood on World Cup podiums in Szeged and Brandenburg (K-1 500 m, bronze). She is the reference point for the entire women's group: both in the single and as the pillar of the K-4 the coach builds the rest of the crew around.
The prize is a home medal. The Poznań Worlds (26–30 August) are a chance Puławska may not get again — a World Championships on home water, in front of a home crowd. The June camp in Wałcz is the first step toward that peak.
Returns and debuts
The June call-ups are not just the familiar names. The loudest comeback is Dominika Putto (born 1995, the squad's oldest member) — a Paris 2024 Olympian who did not race at all through 2025 and now returns in 2026 straight into the senior four. Among the men, Wojciech Pilarz and Piotr Morawski returned to international racing in 2025 after a two-year gap (2023–2024) and both held their place in the four for 2026.
On the other side is fresh blood. Katarzyna Kościółek (Zawisza Bydgoszcz) raced only domestically as recently as 2025 and in 2026 jumped straight into the senior four at the World Cup — a national-team debut in the fullest sense. The new face in the men's four is Valerii Vichev (born 2002, MKS Czechowice-Dziedzice), who has raced internationally in Polish colours since 2025.
Other names to know
The squad's second star is Martyna Klatt — 2023 world champion in the K-2 200 m (with then-partner Helena Wiśniewska) and 2023 world silver medallist in the K-2 500 m. It is one of the few world titles in the current field. Among the men, Jakub Stepun stands out — 2024 world silver medallist in the K-1 200 m, with a 2025 World Cup bronze in the four alongside Vichev and Witczak.
On the youth side, the loudest note comes from the International Regatta in Bratislava (May 2026) — a well-stacked event where Poland's juniors collected a string of medals: among them K-4 500 m silver (Bargiel, Kulpa, Kuściński, Szott) and K-2 bronzes. Julia Kamieniecka (born 2010, the youngest called up) won the K-1 1000 m in Bratislava, and Oliwia Borucka took the K-2 1000 m.
Virtual crews for the upcoming races
The line-ups below are not speculation — every crew follows from these athletes' previous shared starts (2022–2026 seasons), with the count and level of those races stated.
Seniors — target: World Cup Montreal (9–12 July) and Worlds Poznań (26–30 August)
Men's K-4 500 m — surest crew: Morawski / Pilarz / Vichev / Witczak. This is the full crew that raced together through the entire 2026 World Cup (heats, semifinal, B final). Historically the four rotated: at the 2023 Worlds it was Korsak/Leszczyński/Stepun/Witczak, in 2024 Korsak/Morawski/Stepun/Witczak.
Men's K-2 500 m: Korsak / Leszczyński — the 2026-season pairing (shared A final at the World Cup, 6th). Alternatives from earlier seasons: Korsak most often raced with Stepun (11 shared starts, 2023–2025), and Leszczyński with Pilarz (5 starts, 2022–2025).
Women's K-2 500 m: two proven 2026 pairs — Kąkol / Putto (World Cup A final, 2nd) and Klatt / Puławska (A final, 4th). A third pair built in 2026: Kościółek / Olszewska.
Women's K-4 500 m: the core is Klatt, Kościółek, Ostrowska and Putto — tested at the 2026 World Cup, with Kąkol and Olszewska rotating in. The "Olympic" trio Kąkol/Putto/Puławska already raced together in the four across 2022–2024, so the foundation is proven. All seven call-ups give full line-up flexibility for Poznań.
U23 — target: Jr&U23 Worlds Halifax (1–5 July) and Jr&U23 Euros Szeged (23–26 July)
Women's K-2 500 m: Więcławska / Zimnoch — the lead pair, 7 shared starts across 2025–2026, including the 2026 World Cup. The most-raced duo in the whole pool, though, is Jaskólska / Marczewska — 13 shared K-2 races (2022–2025, 500 and 1000 m). Błażejczak / Więcławska (6 starts) is also strong.
Women's K-4 500 m: base is Błażejczak / Więcławska / Zimnoch (together in the 2025 U23 Worlds final), to be completed with a fourth.
Men's K-2 500 m: Komorowski / Kot (3 shared starts in 2025, also over 10,000 m). K-4 500 m: the Kaźmierczak / Kubalski / Midloch trio raced together at the 2025 U23 Worlds and is a natural nucleus for the four.
Juniors — target: Halifax and Szeged
Men's K-2 500 m: Bargiel / Kulpa — the most-drilled junior pair (8 shared starts 2025–2026, from 500 m to 10,000 m; K-2 500 m bronze in Bratislava 2026). Next in line: Kuściński / Szott (4 starts) and Kaźmierczak / Zawistowski (Bratislava A final).
Men's K-4 500 m: in Bratislava 2026 two crews raced — the silver Bargiel/Kulpa/Kuściński/Szott and the bronze Kaźmierczak/Kwaśniewski-Droździel/Witkowski/Zawistowski. Ready-made options for Halifax.
Women's K-2 500 m: Chojnacka / Kowalska (2026 national title), Piasecka / Łuczak (shared A final at the 2025 Junior Worlds) and Michalska / Piasecka (K-2 500 m silver in Bratislava). Over 1000 m, Borucka / Włodarczyk took Bratislava gold.
Women's K-4 500 m: the silver crew from Bratislava 2026 — Borucka / Kowalska / Michalska / Włodarczyk — is the clear starting point.
Calendar — what's at stake
The June camps in Wałcz bridge the spring World Cups already raced (Szeged 8–10 May, Brandenburg 14–17 May) and the summer's target events:
- World Cup Montreal (Canada), 9–12 July — the seniors' last international test before Poznań.
- Junior & U23 Worlds in Halifax (Canada), 1–5 July — the main target for the called-up U23 and junior groups (U23 camps end 18 June, junior camps 28 June — squarely ahead of the trip to Canada).
- Junior & U23 Euros in Szeged (Hungary), 23–26 July — the summer's second big youth event.
- Senior & Paracanoe Worlds in Poznań (Poland), 26–30 August — the home Worlds, the season's biggest start. The 21 June – 5 July senior camp sets the form for this peak.
Earlier, on 10–14 June, the senior European Sprint Championships take place in Montemor-o-Velho. The slalom squad, led by Klaudia Zwolińska, runs its own parallel track — a consultation and World Cup in Prague (31 May – 7 June).
Frequently asked questions
Who was called up for the June senior camp in Wałcz?
Men's kayak: Pilarz, Stepun, Witczak, Leszczyński, Korsak, Vichev and Morawski. Women's kayak: Kąkol, Olszewska, Putto, Puławska, Klatt, Kościółek and Ostrowska. The camp runs 21 June – 5 July.
Which squad member has the strongest CV?
Anna Puławska — Olympic silver (Tokyo 2020, K-2 500 m) and bronze (K-4 500 m), and in 2025 a World Cup winner in the K-1 over 200 and 500 m. The 2023 world title (K-2 200 m) belongs to Martyna Klatt.
Are these call-ups already the squad for the Worlds in Poznań?
No. They are call-ups to a training camp. The federation separates squad membership from start nominations — the Poznań line-ups are announced separately, closer to the event.
Is the most-drilled crew automatically a medal contender?
The most shared starts belong to Martyna Jaskólska – Weronika Marczewska: 13 K-2 races together (2022–2025). That reflects crew stability, not a guarantee — in 2026 the higher-rated pairs are Więcławska/Zimnoch (U23) and Kąkol/Putto (seniors).
Do the juniors already have international medals this season?
Yes, but from a regatta, not a championship. At the International Regatta in Bratislava (May 2026) Poland's juniors won, among others, K-4 500 m silver (Bargiel, Kulpa, Kuściński, Szott) and golds in singles and pairs (Kamieniecka K-1 1000 m, Borucka K-2 1000 m). Their championship test comes in Halifax.
The home Worlds in Poznań will be the litmus test for the whole project — and the most attention will fall on the women's four being built around Anna Puławska and the squad debut of the generation now training in Wałcz.
Photo: eurosport.tvn24.pl