Polish Wildwater Championships 2026 results: Iwaniec wins sprint by 0.01 s, Sztuba takes both C1 titles

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2026-10-21T08:26:48+00:00

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PaddleStats

Patrycja Iwaniec won the women’s K1 wildwater sprint by one hundredth of a second at the 83rd Polish Wildwater Canoeing Championships, held on the Dunajec River in Szczawnica on 16–18 October 2026. The KS AZS-AKF Kraków junior finished with four medals, matching Michał Wiercioch’s haul, while UKS Krakowski Klub Kajakowy topped the club table with seven titles.

Eighteen national titles were decided over three days: five in sprint, nine in individual classic races and four in team events. The senior and junior championships drew 115 athletes from 13 clubs. Saturday also featured eight masters events, with 25 paddlers finishing in 22 boats. Eleven clubs won medals in the main championships, and five claimed titles.

Polish Wildwater Championships 2026 medal table

The table covers the 54 podium places across the 18 championship events, excluding the masters races. Each crew or team counts as one medal. The top three clubs, all from Kraków, took 34 of those medals and 16 of the 18 titles. The other two golds went to the host club in Szczawnica and to Fundacja Activehill.

All seven of UKS Krakowski Klub Kajakowy’s titles came in canoe events: the senior C2 sprint and classic, the junior C1 and C2 classic, the women’s C1 classic and both canoe team races. KS AZS-AKF Kraków dominated the men’s kayak events, winning the sprint, the senior classic and the team race. KS Start Nowy Sącz collected five medals, including three silvers, but finished below Activehill in the table because it did not win a gold.

Sprint: Iwaniec wins by 0.01 seconds as Brański sets the pace

Friday’s five sprint events each featured a heat followed by a title-deciding final. Winning times ranged from 53.17 seconds in the men’s K1 to 1:16.59 in the women’s C1.

The smallest winning margin of the championships came in the women's K1 sprint final. Iwaniec clocked 1:02.71, with Joanna Kurpan of KKW 1929 Kraków just one hundredth of a second behind. Paris 2024 Olympian Adrianna Kąkol took bronze, 0.53 s down. Iwaniec had also been fastest in the heat (1:01.68). Still a junior, she beat a field that also included senior paddlers.

Iwaniec added bronze in the women's C1 the same day, in another tight final. Martyna Bednarczyk of KS Pieniny Szczawnica won in 1:16.59, finishing 0.82 seconds ahead of Katarzyna Popielak, 0.84 ahead of Iwaniec and 0.98 ahead of fourth-placed Daria Garbarz. Garbarz had topped the heats by 4.53 seconds but missed the podium by 0.14 in the final. Bednarczyk's win was the host club's only title.

KS AZS-AKF Kraków produced the two fastest kayak runs of the day. Jacek Brański won the men's K1 in 53.17 s, ahead of club-mate Jakub Brzeziński (+0.54 s) and Marek Kulczycki of UKS KKK (+0.88 s). Brański had also led the 23-paddler field in the heats. Kulczycki, a junior, took bronze in the open event. There was a tie for ninth: Kacper Majerczak and Krzysztof Dusik of Pieniny both stopped the clock at 58.18 s.

Kacper Sztuba of KS AZS-AKF Kraków won the C1 in 1:01.06, ahead of Szymon Nowobilski of Start Nowy Sącz (+1.14 s) and Wiercioch (+1.29 s). Wiercioch also teamed up with Krzysztof Książek to win the C2 in 1:00.99, 1.51 s clear of brothers Bartłomiej and Konrad Szymanek of Pieniny.

Classic: Borucka and Słowiński challenge the seniors’ times

Winning times in Saturday’s individual classic races ranged from 13:44.96 to 18:37.03, with a split recorded along the course. Juniors and seniors raced the same route but had separate classifications in most events. Comparing their times shows how close the leading juniors were to the seniors, though the results came from separate races.

The women’s K1 provided the clearest example. Oliwia Borucka of KKW 1929 Kraków won the junior classic in 14:50.72, with Iwaniec 1:27.41 back and Gabriela Jojczyk of Start Nowy Sącz third at 1:37.29. Senior champion Kąkol clocked 15:09.91 — 19.19 seconds slower than Borucka, who had also been quicker at the intermediate checkpoint, 7:19.97 to 7:23.44. Borucka is a flatwater sprinter; at the 89th Polish Senior Canoe Sprint Championships she won K2 1000 m silver with Kurpan in 3:58.59.

Michał Słowiński of Fundacja Activehill won the junior K1 classic in 13:45.65, 34.29 s ahead of Jan Czosnowski of KKW. The 17-year-old came within 0.69 seconds of senior champion Brzeziński’s 13:44.96, having recorded a split 5.68 seconds faster, 6:39.34 to 6:45.02. Earlier this season, Słowiński won K4 500 m gold at Olympic Hopes 2026 and finished second in the K1 500 m B final for 17-year-olds. Back in Szczawnica, the junior bronze was decided by just 0.18 seconds: Sebastian Wańczyk edged out Kulczycki.

Brzeziński reversed Friday’s result against Brański. He won the senior classic, finishing 29.46 seconds ahead of Tadeusz Kuchno of UKS KKK, with Marcel Meus of KKW third. Paweł Słowiński of Activehill missed that bronze by 1.08 s. Sprint champion Brański finished fifth, 48.77 s down.

Kąkol, third in Friday's sprint, won the senior women’s classic, finishing 1.39 seconds ahead of Kurpan, with Justyna Stelmach of Yacht-Club third (+6.52 s). Kąkol had led by 2.90 seconds at the checkpoint, so Kurpan recovered more than half of the deficit before the finish. Before the event Kąkol told the Polish federation she had raced in Szczawnica since childhood: "It's a different kind of paddling — you have to be able to read the water."

Sztuba was the only athlete to win both individual titles in his boat class. After the sprint he took the C1 classic in 16:05.38, 7.60 s ahead of Wiercioch. Grzegorz Hedwig of Start Nowy Sącz took bronze. He had been second at the checkpoint, 5.30 seconds behind Sztuba, but Wiercioch moved ahead of him in the standings by the finish. Sztuba, born in Lubań in 1999, is a slalom canoeist and the 2017 junior world champion. Hedwig, born in 1988, is also a slalom specialist and won the national C1 title in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

In the senior C2, sprint bronze medallists Szymon Sowiźrał and Marcin Kościukiewicz of UKS KKK won the classic, 21.11 s ahead of the Szymanek brothers. Bronze went to Dawid Markowski and Karol Sadowski of AZS-AWF Gorzów, a partnership spanning two generations: Markowski is 43 and Sadowski 20, born in 1983 and 2006 respectively. In the junior C2, Wiktor Mazurek and Konrad Kulczycki won by 28.53 s, while just 1.62 s separated second from fourth. Silver went to Wiktor Kurosz and Mikołaj Pacyna of Gorzów, both born in 2011, and bronze to Wojciech Kołodziejczyk and Bartosz Tryba of Pieniny.

Junior and senior women shared a single classification in the C1 classic, which junior Katarzyna Popielak won in 18:37.03. Iwaniec was second, 15.10 s back, and Maja Lenartowicz of LUKS Wietrznice Zabrzeż third. In the junior men's C1, Michał Szostak of UKS KKK finished 48.09 seconds ahead of club-mate Yevhen Sytyi, with Tomasz Reguła of LKK Drzewica third.

Teams and masters: four team titles for Kraków, three masters titles for Leśna

In a wildwater team race, three boats of the same class race together. The clock starts when the first boat crosses the start line and stops when the last boat finishes. Four team events were held on Sunday, and Kraków clubs won all four.

The men's K1 team race drew the biggest field, 14 teams. KS AZS-AKF Kraków (Brzeziński, Brański and Jakub Dyda) won in 14:46.25. Fundacja Activehill took silver, 10.30 s back, with Jakub Gaszak and brothers Michał and Paweł Słowiński, and KS Pieniny Szczawnica (Krzysztof and Kacper Majerczak, Konrad Szymanek) took bronze. Activehill brought three athletes to the championships and all three went home with a medal.

Wiercioch's fourth medal came on Sunday. With Książek and Sowiźrał he won the C1 team race, finishing 48.74 seconds ahead of Start Nowy Sącz’s Grzegorz Hedwig, Szymon Nowobilski and Szymon Hedwig. KS AZS-AKF Kraków took bronze with Sztuba, Igor Puczel and Mikołaj Mastalski. The closest team finish came in C2, where each team fields three two-person boats: UKS KKK beat AZS-AWF Gorzów by 9.12 s, with juniors Mazurek and Kulczycki in the winning line-up. Pieniny took bronze.

In the women's K1 team race, KKW 1929 Kraków’s Kąkol, Kurpan and Borucka won in 15:19.12, 1:35.84 clear of Start Nowy Sącz (Hanna and Dominika Danek, Gabriela Jojczyk). Bronze went to LTK Fala Lublin: Dorota Moskowicz, Agata Zielińska and Anna Karaś.

Two clubs won five of the eight masters titles on Saturday. LUKS Kwisa Leśna, where Kacper Sztuba began his paddling career, took three: Bogdan Sztuba in C1 51+, Mariusz Pinkowski and Marcin Labiszak in C2 35+, and Jacek Sztuba in K1 35–50. LKS Dunajec swept the K1 66+ podium (Krzysztof Polaczyk, Marian Jarosz, Wiesław Waruś), and the club’s Katarzyna Jargiło won the women’s K1 35–50. Sławomir Lewalski of Fala Lublin won the men's K1 51–65, and his club-mate Krzysztof Majerski took silver in K1 35–50. In C2 35+, Krystian Sobala and Adam Śpiewak of UKS 4 Katowice finished second.

What's next after Szczawnica

Szczawnica brought Poland’s national wildwater championship season to a close. The main senior global events had taken place much earlier: the World Championships in Banja Luka ran from 20 to 23 May, and the World Cup concluded in June. The series comprised six rounds, with two each in Dunaremete, Bratislava and Mezzana.

For several medallists, Szczawnica offered an autumn change from their main discipline. Kąkol, Kurpan, Borucka and Słowiński usually focus on canoe sprint, while Sztuba, Hedwig and Wiercioch specialise in slalom. Attention now turns to rest and preparation for next season. "Now it's time for a holiday and a breather," Sztuba told the federation after the event.

The juniors’ performances offered plenty of promise. Borucka turned 18 on the final day of the championships and will no longer be a junior next season. On the Dunajec, she was already faster than the senior champion. Słowiński, born in 2009, remains a junior in 2027. Iwaniec won an open sprint title and added three more medals. Before the event, the preview “Olympians and more” highlighted the leading names in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the most medals at the 2026 Polish Wildwater Championships?

Michał Wiercioch and Patrycja Iwaniec won four each. Wiercioch took two golds (sprint C2 with Krzysztof Książek and the C1 team race), a silver (classic C1) and a bronze (sprint C1). Iwaniec took gold in the K1 sprint, silver in both the C1 classic and junior K1 classic, and bronze in the C1 sprint. Kacper Sztuba, Jakub Brzeziński, Adrianna Kąkol, Szymon Sowiźrał and Marcin Kościukiewicz won three medals each, two of them gold.

Which club topped the medal table in Szczawnica?

UKS Krakowski Klub Kajakowy, with 7 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze, 15 in total. KS AZS-AKF Kraków was second (6-3-2) and KKW 1929 Kraków third (3-3-2). The table covers the 18 championship events, not the masters races.

Were juniors faster than seniors in Szczawnica?

Oliwia Borucka won the junior K1 classic in 14:50.72, 19.19 s quicker than senior champion Adrianna Kąkol. Michał Słowiński (13:45.65) was only 0.69 s slower than senior champion Jakub Brzeziński. Patrycja Iwaniec won the open women’s K1 sprint, while Marek Kulczycki took bronze in the open men’s event.

Did the host club KS Pieniny Szczawnica go home without a title?

No. Martyna Bednarczyk won the women's C1 sprint by 0.82 s. Pieniny won six medals in total, one gold, two silver and three bronze; the Szymanek brothers took C2 silver in both the sprint and the classic.

Did flatwater sprinters beat the wildwater and slalom specialists?

Yes, particularly in women’s K1. Paris Olympian Adrianna Kąkol won the K1 classic, and KKW 1929 Kraków’s Kąkol, Joanna Kurpan and Oliwia Borucka won the team race by 1:35.84. Michał Słowiński, an Olympic Hopes 2026 medallist in sprint, won the junior K1 classic. The canoe titles, however, went to slalom and wildwater paddlers such as Kacper Sztuba, Michał Wiercioch and the UKS KKK crews.

What is the difference between a wildwater sprint and a classic race?

Sprint races are short: in Szczawnica, each event had a heat and a final, with winning final times ranging from 53.17 seconds to 1:16.59. The classic races were much longer, with winning times of 13:44.96 to 18:37.03 and a split recorded along the course. Classic racing rewards endurance and what Kąkol called the ability to read the water.

How is a wildwater team race timed?

A team consists of three boats of the same class. Timing runs from the first boat crossing the start line to the last boat crossing the finish line. A C2 team therefore consists of six paddlers in three two-person boats. The smallest winning margin of the team races in Szczawnica was 9.12 s, in the men's C2.

Patrycja Iwaniec, Kacper Sztuba and Oliwia Borucka were among the standout performers at the 83rd championships on the Dunajec: Iwaniec won the sprint by 0.01 s, Sztuba swept both C1 titles and Borucka went faster than the senior champion. With the final national championships of the season complete, the paddlers can turn their attention to a break and preparations for next year.

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