At a European level, Adam Kszczot has achieved everything. He has won six European 800m titles, three indoors and three outdoors, and will be challenging for a seventh crown this weekend.
And speaking ahead of the Torun 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships at the official pre-event press conference at the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Center, the elder statesman of the Polish team remains as motivated and determined as ever at the age of 31.
“I believe this is my eighth time competing at the European Championships,” said Kszczot on the eve of the championships. “I have a lot of feelings going through my head: pride and happiness but also anticipation and fear because I still care - I am still hungry for success.”
Kszczot’s event will be one of the strongest of the championships even in the absence of world leader Elliot Giles from Great Britain who is focusing on the outdoor season. The entry-list is still replete with talent including Pierre Ambroise-Bosse from France, who pipped Kszczot for the world outdoor title in 2017, and two-time world outdoor medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Casting his mind back on his long and venerable career, Kszczot can seldom recall a championships which has attracted such a wealth of talent in his event.
“Throughout the 14 years of my professional career, this is only the second time when the level of competition is so high. The last time was at the 2014 World Indoor Championships,” said Kszczot who won a silver medal on that day.
Seven years later and Kszczot is still in the medal discussion. His season’s best of 1:45.22 set at the Copernicus Cup in Torun makes him the third fastest on paper behind Sweden’s Andreas Kramer (1:45.09) and Great Britain’s Jamie Webb (1:44.54) although Kszczot believes anyone ranked inside the top-10 shouldn't be discounted.
Assessing his chances, Kszczot said: “On the one hand, my head would wish for me to be one level higher than my competitors - to have some clear advantage over them. On the other hand, after one-year-and-a-half of hard training in this difficult time, I need some tough competition to get back to the highest level.”
A rested Lavillenie primed for Duplantis clash in Torun
Kszczot might have taken some succour from the athlete sitting two places to his left - France’s Renaud Lavillenie who is almost as good as ever just six months shy of his 35th birthday.
Lavillenie cleared 6.02m at the end of January before ameliorating his season’s best with a spectacular 6.06m clearance at the All-Star Perche in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday, his best clearance in seven years. What does Lavillenie account for his resurgence?
“The fact is it is due to covid,” said Lavillenie. “I had a long break last year and it has helped my body. I have been able to heal every pain in my body and take time to build up slowly from the summer.
“I think in the last four years, I hadn’t been able to train for more than three weeks without needing a break. Right now, it’s been four months without any troubles which has been a big difference and that’s why I am over 6.00m again. I just have to be focused on my body and my performance will follow.”
On his prospective clash with Armand Duplantis this weekend, Lavillenie said: “I think both of us are expecting something really intense. I think for the first time someone could jump six metres here and be just second in the competition which would be amazing.”
Swiety-Ersetic and Bol to battle for individual and relay honours
Reigning European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic has been at the forefront of so many successful Polish teams in recent years and she will be chasing medals in both the individual event and the 4x400m relay in which Poland has reigned supreme on the continental stage in recent years.
“Of course for me this is a huge step before the Tokyo Olympics. I am still taking it extremely seriously: I am competing on home turf in Torun. I will try to do my best to be successful. I know there is strong opposition - Femke Bol and the other Dutch girls but definitely my goal is to win. Whether this will come true, we will seem,” she said.
On Poland’s chances in the relay, Swiety-Ersetic identified the strong Dutch challenge led by Bol and Lieke Klaver but is hopeful the Poles can prevail for the third edition in succession. She said: “I know this time we are facing very strong opposition with the Dutch girls but we are hopeful. The line-up of our relay team is slightly different - we have one young athlete so I hope this will also be an advantage for us.”
Bol leads the 2021 European list with an outright Dutch record of 50.64 but the reigning European U20 400m hurdles champion isn’t making any specific predictions about her chances in the 400m and 4x400m relay.
“I am happy with the results I did already this season and Torun is a really fast track - I like it a lot. I can’t wait for some good races first individually and then in the relay; I think we are really strong and we can show something there,” she said.