Home athletes relishing Lublin 2025 challenge as Ponti and Wiffen set targets on eve of competition

Excitement over the European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin was palpable at today’s opening press conference – and most particularly from Polish athletes preparing for the home event that will run from December 2 to 7.

Home swimmers Katarzyna Wasick, Adela Piskorska and Krzysztof Chmielewski described their pride at taking part, sitting alongside Switzerland’s multiple world record breaker Noe Ponti, double world 100m freestyle champion Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands, Belgium’s European 100m butterfly champion Roos Vanotterdijk and Ireland’s Paris 2024 800m freestyle champion Daniel Wiffen.

The athletes’ contributions at Lublin’s Arche Hotel were preceded by welcoming speeches including one from European Aquatics President Antonio Silva.

Asked what it meant to be competing at a home Championships,  Wasick, 33, who has taken world 50m freestyle bronze and silver medals within in last three years, responded:

“It means everything. When these Championships were last In Poland in 2011 I was one of the swimmers competing in Szczecin. So to be able to come back here in Lublin and compete again means everything.

“It means over the years I survived! But also that I got better, to be able to be among such amazing athletes.

“I want to thank our home federation, the city authorities in Lublin and everyone involved in this event for making it happen.”

The appreciation from Wasick’s 22-year-old team-mate Adela Piskorska, the European 100m backstroke champion, was no less intense.

“It’s a really special event for me because Aqua Lublin is my training home,” Piskorska, who won gold, silver and bronze at this summer’s European Aquatics U23 Championships, commented.

“I live here, study here and train here. It’s maybe a weird feeling to have a European Championship in my training pool – but I am also really excited about it! I want to have fun and swim fast.”

Asked if it was, as has been suggested, a fast pool, she responded: “Yes!”

There were similar vibes for Poland’s 21-year-old Krzysztof Chmielewski, now US-based, who earned world 200m butterfly silvers in 2023 and 2025, and who took bronze in last December’s World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest.

“It feels amazing to be swimming against the best in the world in the pool I trained in for years when I was little,” he said. “I am really looking forward to this week.”

Wasick reflected upon the break she took from swimming after competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics:

“In 2016 I retired from competitive swimming for two years. And afterwards I came back. I decided to have one more chance in the sport. My goal at the time was to make my fourth Olympics. But since then I have been progressing!

“So I hope I can make one or two Olympics more, but the journey has been just incredible. And the joy from being in the sport has brought me here.

“I am very happy that I was able to come back to be able to compete in my country. That’s a win for me.

“I remember in 2011 winning the bronze medal with the girls in the relay, and being on the team with our Swimming Federation President, Otylia Jędrzejczak. It’s really special that now I can be here and she can kind of guide me from the other side.”

Wiffen, who won the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle titles at the last edition of these Championships at Otopeni in 2023, setting a world record in the 800m, is making a competitive return here. He had to leave midway through this summer’s World Championships, where he was defending 800m and 1500m champion, in order to have his appendix out.

“I’m very excited to be in Poland – it’s the first time for me,” Wiffen said. “Otopeni 2023 was obviously amazing for me. Being able to break the 800m world record on the last day set the pathway for me for winning at the Olympics the following year.

“This is a new season for me. I love the European Short Course because it gets the season off to a fast start. I’m not gong to say I’m going to go out and have the same feats as last time, three golds and a world record, but I’m hoping for at least one gold here and I’ll see if I can build on it.”

Asked about his mental approach to these Championships given the disruption to his year, the 24-year-old responded: “I would actually say my attitude is very similar to the way it was when I came into the Championships in Otopeni because I was coming off a World Champs having come fourth twice.

“This time I’ve had my appendix taken out which ruined my World Championships in the summer. But I think I am bringing the same motivation to Lublin as I brought to Otopeni after coming fourth twice.”

Ponti, 24, is defending the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly titles he won at Otopeni 2023. By the end of last year he had set five short course world records and earned three golds at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest.

This summer he took world long course silver in the 50m and 100m  butterfly, finishing on both occasions behind France’s Maxime Grousset, who is also competing in Lublin.

It’s going to be a long week of racing and it’s going to be exciting,” Ponti said. “It’s always nice to race short course, it’s fun, there are a lot of guys going for the medals.

“So it’s going to be a tough week but it’s going to be a good one. I don’t know what you expect of me but for sure I’m going to try to put on a good show for everyone.”

Ponti commented earlier this year that he preferred long course to short course as it was the Olympic distance. But he emphasised his affinity for short course today.

“Short course is really easy for me because of my underwaters, but long and short course have the same importance for me.”

Steenbergen, whose first senior international medals were won at the European Short Course Championships at Netanya in 2015, commented: “It’s been a while since I’ve done the European Short Course. I want to see what I can do at these Championships. I’m curious to see what I do here and how I can build on that toward the next long course season.”

Vanotterdijk, 20, has had a whirlwind 2025, taking three golds and two silvers at the EA U23 Championships in Samorin and then stepping up to win 100m butterfly silver and 50m butterfly bronze att the Singapore World Championships.

Since then she has set a succession of snational short course records in the World Cup series:

“I really enjoy doing short course, it’s so much fun,” she said. “It’s maybe not my strong point compared to the 50m pool but being able to do more events helps me. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Earlier, President Silva – sitting alongside Jędrzejczak – said he felt “completely relaxed” about the success of the Championships.

“I know I can really rely upon Otylia and her team,” he said. “We have worked together on other events and I know this is going to be an amazing Championship. I want to express our gratitude to everyone whose help and support has enabled this event to take place.”

Also present for welcoming speeches were Beata Stepaniuk-Kuzmierzak, from the Mayor of Lublin’s Office for Culture, Sport and Participation, and Katarzyna Smyk, Director of the European Commission Representation in Poland.

Turning to Smyk, Silva added: “It is very good to see Katarzyna here. We have a lot of co-operation with the European Commission on a lot of projects, and I think it is important to show that such co-operation can be very fruitful in bringing people together.”

Jędrzejczak commented: “Thank you to European Aquatics for giving us the chance o organise these Championships 14 years after the last one here, at which I competed.

“I heard from our team that the pool is very fast. As a committee we have done everything to make this competition as beautiful as it can be for the athletes taking part.”

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

The post Home athletes relishing Lublin 2025 challenge as Ponti and Wiffen set targets on eve of competition first appeared on European Aquatics®.