WARSAW, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Legendary Polish cross-country skier Justyna Kowalczyk, currently director of the Polish Biathlon Association, expressed disappointment for a "really poor performance" at the Winter Olympics.
In the women's mass start race at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Poland didn't meet expectations as Monika Hojnisz-Starega's 27th place was their best position.
Kowalczyk, a five-time Olympic cross-country skiing medalist, didn't hide her disappointment.
"It was a very poor Olympics for Polish biathlon. There is nothing to sweeten and look for positives. Monika is at an age when she should reap the fruits of hard work that she has been doing all her life. We knew it was bad and there was no reason to expect great things. In a sport like biathlon, miracles rarely happen," Kowalczyk said in an interview with Polish media on Saturday.
According to Kowalczyk, Polish biathlon needs changes to improve the level of the athletes.
"We have a plan in the federation. We will implement some changes just after the Olympics, and some in the spring, after the season. There will be big changes for sure, because there is no development. It's strange as in the federation everything works perfectly, we have funds. However, we cannot turn it into success," the 39-year-old said.
It is reported that the federation may hire new coaches for both the men's and women's teams.
"For now, we know that the team, which was sixth in the world championship last year, took the 14th position at the Olympics. Single good runs are not enough. We need some time to fix it," Kowalczyk concluded. ■
