Kinga Wojtasik has already been at the Olympics as she represented Poland at the Rio 2016 Games. If she manages to qualify for Tokyo with partner Katarzyna Kociolek, however, that could prove even more special as she wouldn’t be the only member of her family to be accessing an Olympic dream.
That’s because since the start of the 2019 season, the 30-year-old Wojtasik has been coached by her husband Damian. The two married later that same year after nine years together. A former beach volleyball player himself, Damian represented Poland on the FIVB World Tour between 2009 and 2014, but never made it to the Olympics.
Now they have a chance to do it together.
“When the quad started, it wasn’t our plan that we would work together,” Wojtasik told Volleyball World. “Some situations happened and we agreed that the best for us would be that he coached our team. We’re playing better and better now and if we manage to qualify for the Olympics together and get to be at the Games, it would be something really special for us and our family. He dreamed about doing it as a player but unfortunately couldn’t, so hopefully we can have this experience together.”
The addition of Damian to the team’s coaching staff wasn’t the only change in Kinga’s plans ahead of the Tokyo Games. After her Olympic partner Monika Brzostek stepped away from the sport to become a mother, she picked Jagoda Gruszczynska to be her next teammate.
After a season in which results didn’t go their way, the left-handed Wojtasik turned to the 26-year-old Kociolek, and the team had immediate success winning a silver medal in their first FIVB World Tour event together, a three-star tournament in Qinzhou, China.
The highlight of their partnership, however, took place in 2019, when the Polish pair took home the silver medal of the European Championships in Moscow.
“This quad has been completely different to the previous one,” Wojtasik said. “Monika and I started the last quad together and this time there were a few changes. With Katarzyna, I’m the most experienced of the two and am trying to push her. We have good chemistry now and are both fighters and I think this combination will put is in a good spot in regard to the Olympic qualification. My experience in Rio was amazing and I want her to be able to feel the same in Tokyo.”
Wojtasik and Kociolek have been partners since the 2018 seasonWojtasik and Kociolek currently have 4,460 Olympic points and are 900 points behind the last team in the top-15 of the list. The three consecutive tournaments in Cancun are a great opportunity for the Poles to improve their chances, and they’re doing their best to accomplish that.
“We’re trying to play as well as we can because we know there aren’t a lot of tournaments left, so it will be difficult,” Wojtasik added. “The plan is to give everything we have and try to improve our position in the Olympic rankings, but we know we could have a second chance with the Continental Cup if we need too.”
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Cancun Hub - 1st event
Cancun Hub - 1st event - Match schedule
Provisional Olympic ranking - Men
Provisional Olympic ranking - Women
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