Men
POL
Marek Kania
POL- Date of birth01 Apr 1999
- ProfessionStudent
- HometownWarsaw
- Place of birthWarsaw
- Start skating / Club He took up the sport at age nine at school. / FLiSW Legia Warszawa: Poland
- HobbiesWatching movies. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
- LanguagesEnglish, Italian, Polish
- CoachBartosz Pisarek [club], POL; Artur Was [national], POL
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
"Hard work is better than talent." (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
Belgian speed skater Bart Swings, US speed skater Joey Mantia, Dutch speed skater Michel Mulder. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
Coach Bartosz Pisarek. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
He missed the 2023 European Championships in Hamar, Norway, due to a muscle injury, but recovered to win bronze in the 500m at the 2023 Winter World University Games in Lake Placid, NY, United States of America, later the same month. (polsatsport.pl, 19 Jan 2023; legia.net, 04 Jan 2023)
To win a medal at the Olympic Winter Games, and to win a world title. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
Competing at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2023)
DUAL SKATING DISCIPLINES
He has also represented Poland in roller speed skating. "Certainly in summer it will be roller skates and in winter ice skates. As long as I am able to combine the two and get good results, which it looks like I can, I would not want to only choose one. There are athletes who have been successful both in roller skating and speed skating. Last year [2020] I wanted to quit ice skating and there was a plan to focus only on inline skating. I went to the Polish speed skating championships. It was supposed to be my last competition in the sport, I only wanted to get some points for the club. However, I had some good results and [coach] Konrad Niedzwiedzki noticed them. He offered me a place on a training camp with the sprint team. I took advantage of this and trained with them, did my best and was invited to the national speed skating team." (sport.onet.pl, 26 Oct 2021)
BALANCING SPORT AND STUDY
Ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, he took a break from his studies in automation and robotics at the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. He had previously taken a study break to train in inline skating in Italy, but was forced to return home due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I have been studying at the university for four years [speaking in 2021], but only one year full-time. After I finished my first year, I took study leave and went to Italy with my siblings to train in inline skating. When I resumed my second year, all my classes were conducted remotely, which in a way made it easier for me to combine studying and training, because I could be at sports camps and complete everything at the same time. Combining studying at WUT with high-level training is not easy and you often have to deal with things individually. Fortunately, most of the professors take kindly to my situation." (pw.edu.pl, 09 Nov 2021; sport.onet.pl, 26 Oct 2021)
He has also represented Poland in roller speed skating. "Certainly in summer it will be roller skates and in winter ice skates. As long as I am able to combine the two and get good results, which it looks like I can, I would not want to only choose one. There are athletes who have been successful both in roller skating and speed skating. Last year [2020] I wanted to quit ice skating and there was a plan to focus only on inline skating. I went to the Polish speed skating championships. It was supposed to be my last competition in the sport, I only wanted to get some points for the club. However, I had some good results and [coach] Konrad Niedzwiedzki noticed them. He offered me a place on a training camp with the sprint team. I took advantage of this and trained with them, did my best and was invited to the national speed skating team." (sport.onet.pl, 26 Oct 2021)
BALANCING SPORT AND STUDY
Ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, he took a break from his studies in automation and robotics at the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. He had previously taken a study break to train in inline skating in Italy, but was forced to return home due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I have been studying at the university for four years [speaking in 2021], but only one year full-time. After I finished my first year, I took study leave and went to Italy with my siblings to train in inline skating. When I resumed my second year, all my classes were conducted remotely, which in a way made it easier for me to combine studying and training, because I could be at sports camps and complete everything at the same time. Combining studying at WUT with high-level training is not easy and you often have to deal with things individually. Fortunately, most of the professors take kindly to my situation." (pw.edu.pl, 09 Nov 2021; sport.onet.pl, 26 Oct 2021)
He has represented Poland in roller speed skating, competing at four editions of the world championships between 2018 and 2023. (SportsDeskOnline, 03 Nov 2023; Facebook page, 20 Nov 2021)
He followed his friends into speed skating.
Bartosz Pisarek [club], POL; Artur Was [national], POL