We have been all waiting to be allowed to compete at the Polish Universities Championships. Over 800 students have been happy to come to Lodz. The event was supposed to take place at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, but it has been probably better that way because this small AZS facility always welcomes athletes with open arms. We simply love it - says Lech Leszczyński, the president of AZS Lodz.
Athletics is a very important sport discipline for the Academic Sports Club (AZS). – 42.5 per cent of the medals at the Polish Championships in Włocławek and 44 per cent of the medals at the Polish Youth Championships in Biała Podlaska went to athletes from AZS. We represent an incredible strength of Polish athletics - adds Leszczyński.
The Championships were held in Lodz, at the facility of the University of Lodz. The biggest star was Paweł Fajdek, a four-time world champion.
- I was hoping to keep my high form and hit that devil at 80 metres, because I was able to do it. And today it has been also close, the conditions have been great, but the circle has been a bit too slow. As the years go by, the material gets deteriorated, but I've already agreed that next year we will have a new wheel and we'll throw those 80 metres - said Fajdek laughing, his best throw of 78,62 m.
The main sponsor of the Polish Academic Championships is LOTOS Group. The event was co-financed by the Ministry of Sport.
University of Lodz is one of the biggest universities in Poland. Its mission is to educate top-class scientists and specialists in numerous fields of humanities, social sciences, natural and exact sciences as well as health sciences. UniLodz cooperates with business, both at the staff level by providing qualified employees as well as at the scientific level, by offering its know-how to enterprises from various areas of economy. University of Lodz is an academic institution open to the world – the number of its international students is constantly growing, while its Polish students, thanks to Exchange programmes, get to know Europe, Asia and travel overseas. The University is a part of Lodz, it operates for and with the community of Lodz by getting involved in many socio-cultural projects.
Source: AZS Lodz