[Archive 2008-07-10] Poland announces Olympians for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing

Historical archive — originally published 2008-07-10. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

The Polish Olympic Committee (PKOL) announced today the list of 258 sportsmen drafted to represent Poland at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The number of olympians may increase by 10, as the Committee has given a number of athletes a final chance to qualify, including Lidia Chojecka and Małgorzata Trybańska. There are 101 women and 157 men on the team.

The Committee spent over PLN186 million (almost US$90 million) on preparations for the Olympics in last four years, with PLN73 million of it spent this year alone. "With such a big team, we should improve the results from Athens and win over 10 medals", said the PKOL president Piotr Nurowski.

It will be the third biggest Polish Olympic team in history; there were more sportsmen at the Olympics in 1972 (Munich, 288) and 1980 (Moscow, 321). Fours years ago the team numbered 202 sportsmen.

The players on the men's and women's volleyball teams, as well as the men's handball team are still not known. The teams' coaches Raul Lozano, Marco Bonitta and Bogdan Wenta have until July 19 to announce their rosters.

Overall, the team, including the medical staff, coaches, psychologists and others, will number over 400 people.

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