Updated July 21st, 2021 at 19:43 IST

Tokyo Olympics: Six Polish swimmers sent home from Japan after error by federation

Six Polish swimmers sent home after a major error by the Poland swimming federation and led to the swimmers asking for the resignation of the management board

Reported by: Prithvi Virmani
Image Credits: Alicja Tchorz - Facebook | Image:self
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Six Polish swimmers have been sent back to their home country after a major debacle where Poland's swimming federation (PZP) put 23 athletes on the plane to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics when they were actually meant to send only 17.

Alicja Tchorz, an Olympian at the 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio Games, took to social media to vent out her frustration over missing her third Olympics because of an apparent administrative bungle. “Imagine dedicating 5 years of your life and striving for another start at the most important sporting event … giving up your private life and work, sacrificing your family, etc.,” she wrote Sunday in a Facebook post.

All that dedication resulted in a “total flop,” she said. She also wrote that she was struggling to gather her thoughts as she packed her suitcase to return to Warsaw, angry that she had been denied her dreams “because of the incompetence of third parties.”

A statement signed by members of the swimming team demanded the resignation of the president of the Polish Swimming Federation, Paweł Słomiński, and the management board.

The president of PZP apologises

Pawel Slominski has apologised to six athletes that were sent back home from the Tokyo Games due to an administrative error saying "I express great regret, sadness, and bitterness about the situation related to the qualification of our swimmers for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Such a situation should not take place, and the reaction of the swimmers, their emotions, the attack on the Polish Swimming Federation is understandable to me and justified," he said in a statement.

He added that the error was due to the "desire to allow as many players and coaches as possible to take part in the Games".

Media reports identified the six swimmers as Alicja Tchorz, Bartosz Piszczorowicz, Aleksandra Polanska, Mateusz Chowaniec, Dominika Kossakowska and Jan Holub.

Mateusz Chowaniec took to Instagram and wrote, "I'm deeply shocked by what happened... this is an absurd situation for me that should never have happened. In fact, I hope to wake up from this nightmare eventually."

 

(Image Credits: Alicja Tchorz - Facebook)

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Published July 21st, 2021 at 19:43 IST