Historia

Behind us are the fantastic emotions of the competition dedicated to the memory of the legendary hammer throw coach. The fans who packed the Golęcin stadium were warmed up not only by the sun but also by the spectacular results.

The hurdlers put on an incredible show. The 47-year-old stadium record in the women's 100m hurdles, previously held by Grażyna Rabsztyn, was shattered by America's Amber Hughes $12.60$ ). Meanwhile, new meeting records were set in both the men's and women's 400m hurdles. Botswana’s Kemorena Tisang clocked $48.32$ , while Great Britain’s Lina Nielsen crossed the line in $54.73$ . For a brief moment, the meeting record belonged to Anna Gryc, who set a personal best and broke the 55-second barrier ( $54.97$ ) in an earlier heat.

Botswana's Prince Selepe dashed through the 200m in $20.19$ , smashing the over 20-year-old Golęcin stadium record held by none other than Frankie Fredericks.

The women's 800m was claimed by Vivian Chebet Kiprotich with a stadium record of $2:00.25$ .

Maria Żodzik cleared a season-best $1.97\text{ m}$ marking the highest jump in the history of the Czesław Cybulski Memorial.

Closing the list of outstanding achievements is the world-leading performance in the 2000m steeplechase this year, set by Tunisia's Rihab Dhahri ( $6:08.12$ ).

In the hammer throw events, international competitors claimed victories this time: Ukraine's Mykhaylo Kokhan won the men's competition with a throw of $77.99\text{ m}$ while Ireland's Nicola Tuthill took the women's title ( $72.73\text{ m}$ ). In the pole vault, Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines triumphed with a height of $5.72\text{ m}$ , repeating his success from 2024.

In the amateur relay races—a permanent fixture of the Poznań meeting—this year's debutants, Klub Biegacza Jestem od Romka i Przyjaciele, emerged victorious. Meanwhile, the children's 60m sprints were won by Franciszek Marcinkowski and Yelyzaveta Savych.

The full list of results can be found HERE and Results (PDF).

Czesław Cybulski Memorial: Record-Breaking Thrills in Poznań

Fans at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial witnessed thrilling competition, which unfolded primarily on the track. The 400m hurdlers delivered fantastic results, opening the floodgates for new records. Spain’s Jesús David Delgado managed to catch up with the leading Vít Müller on the final straight and crossed the finish line breaking not only the Poznań meeting record, but also the Spanish national record (48.45).

The women's 400m event was also contested at a remarkably high level. Already in the slower B-heat, Anna Gryc shattered the previous meeting record set two years ago by Justyna Święty-Ersetic. The A-heat brought even better results, with Great Britain's Laviai Nielsen becoming the new record holder of the Poznań event (50.86).

The athletes in the women's 1500m delivered one meeting record and four personal bests. The race was won by Italy's Marta Zenoni (4:02.10). The men's 800m was equally impressive, dominated by Polish athletes who claimed the top three spots. Maciej Wyderka won with a new Memorial record, which is also his personal best (1:44.23). The other Polish runners also broke their personal records.

Excitement reached its peak during the women's 100m hurdles final. Pia Skrzyszowska, who had already shown excellent form in the heats, confidently defeated her rivals, improving her own Memorial record with a time of 12.65.

In the field events, the athletes had to battle strong winds. The gusts took a toll on the pole vaulters—where Norway’s Simen Guttormsen performed best (5.70)—as well as the javelin throwers and the triple jumpers. Despite jumping into a headwind, the triple jumpers still put on a thrilling finale. In her final attempt, the winner, Gabriela Petrova from Bulgaria, broke the 14-meter barrier (14.03) to defeat Germany’s Caroline Joyeux and Adrianna Laskowska (OŚ AZS Poznań), who had improved with every single jump.

The full list of results for the Czesław Cybulski Memorial can be found at: https://cybulski.domtel-sport.pl.

National record in the women's 2000 m steeplechase, several other records highlighted the 2024 Czesław Cybulski Memorial.

Aneta Konieczek set a new Polish record by completing the 2000 m steeplechase in 6:00.81. This was one of the most valuable performances of the Czesław Cybulski Memorial. The Golęcin stadium also saw new records in the men’s 800 m run, women’s triple jump, and men’s pole vault. The record-

breaking nature of the event was further underscored by meeting records in the women’s 200 m, 400 m, and 400 m hurdles, as well as the men’s 200 m.

The men’s pole vault competition electrified the Poznań crowd. Piotr Lisek’s season-best performance (5.82 m) was not enough for the win, as Filipino vaulter Ernest J. Obiena cleared 5.87 m. Fans were thrilled by his – unfortunately unsuccessful – attempts to break his personal best (6.01 m). The third of the "six-meter club", Sondre Guttormsen, was unable to clear any height after a pole-breaking incident.

Three triple jumpers surpassed the previous Poznań stadium record. The winner, Ukraine’s Olha Korsun, jumped 14.16 m. Mohamed Ali Gouaned won the men’s 800 m in 1:44.60, beating a time set over twenty years ago by Yuriy Borzakovskiy. The fastest ever 200 m run on the Golęcin track came from the meet’s biggest star, Wayde van Niekerk, who clocked 20.23. However, this time won't count as a stadium record due to excessive wind. In an unusual twist, the new meet record holder became Diego Pettorossi, winner of an earlier 200 m heat. His time of 20.45 was recorded under legal wind conditions.

Polish favorites performed well in their events. The highly anticipated race by Natalia Kaczmarek ended with a victory for the European champion, who set a personal best and meet record of 22.70. In the hammer throw circle, Anita Włodarczyk (72.00 m) and Paweł Fajdek (78.77 m) emerged victorious, with Fajdek outthrowing Wojciech Nowicki (78.37 m) for the second time this week.

The passionate support of the fans also accompanied the para-athletics competitions. As is tradition, the Poznań event was enriched by the participation of sprinters and shot putters with disabilities. The meet also provided a chance for girls and boys born in 2011–2012 to compete, along with amateur relay teams. In two heats of the 10x400 m relay, the team "Mistrzowski Trening" recorded the best time.

Stars of the event

Wayde van Niekerk

Natalia Kaczmarek

Anita Włodarczyk

Wojciech Nowicki

Paweł Fajdek

Piotr Lisek

Ernest Obiena

Sondre Guttormsen

Justyna Święty-Ersetic

Malwina Kopron

Patrycja Wyciszkiewicz

Paweł Wojciechowski

Karol Zalewski

Anna Wielgosz

Adrianna Laskowska

Aneta Konieczek

Czesław Cybulski – legendary hammer thrower trainer

Trainer Czesław Cybulski graduated from the Secondary Sports School in Gdańsk in 1955, and then worked as a trainer and physical education teacher. Initially, he specialized in sprints, later throws became his domain. The coach was closely associated with the City of Poznań, and from 1968 with AZS Poznań. In 1978, he obtained his doctorate at the Academy of Physical Education in Poznań.

Among coach Cybulski's charges there are Olympic, world and European champions. The most recognizable of them are Anita Włodarczyk, Joanna Fiodorow, Malwina Kopron, Paweł Fajdek and Szymon Ziółkowski, the first Olympic champion in the history of Polish hammer throwing.

For his achievements, Czesław Cybulski was honored with the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland in 2021. In 2013, the Poznań City Council awarded him the title of Meritorious for the City of Poznań.

Known for his love of hard work, he required such an approach from his players. He was one of the most outstanding athletics coaches in Poland and significantly contributed to the development of Polish sport. He died on August 3, 2022. Since 2023, he has been the patron of the athletics meeting in Golęcin.

Excellent results in sprints, a lot of surprises and a fight not only with rivals, but also with unpredictable weather. Poznan Athletics Grand Prix for many athletes was an important opening of the season.

The first part of the meeting in favorable, although windy, weather was filled with sprint and hurdle races. In particular, the most valuable results of the meeting were achieved by Emile Erasmus from South Africa, who equaled Kim Collins' stadium record in the 100m (10.14), Pia Skrzyszowska with the fifth historic time among Polish women in the 100m hurdles (12.68), Imani Lansiquot with the women's 100m record (11.15), and Anna Kielbasinska with the stadium record and an even life in the 300m (36.34). A surprise came from Brendan Rodney of Canada ahead of Yohan Blake in the 200m run with a time of 20.55.

The weather was less kind to middle-distance runners, female athletes competing in the 2000m run with obstacles, and athletes in technical competitions. Piotr Lisek only needed a height of 5.41 to win, while Toni Keranen won the javelin throw with a distance of 79.37. The Polish favorite to win this competition, Marcin Krukowski withdrew after the second round.

The Poznan audience could also applaud the performances of the para-athletes. They competed for the second time at Golęcin in the shot put and 100m run. The meeting ended with the struggles of amateurs. Members of Poznań running teams competed in the 10 x 400 meter relay race. The race has already become a tradition of the Poznan event, and the laurel of the winners went this time to the Maratonczyk Poznan group.

We encourage you to read the full results (PDF) of the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix 2022 and watch the coverage of the event.