Interview and message by Marciej Kurowski: Olympics was great highlight - but now stop war immediately and bring peace!

Salzburg (FIL) Maciej Kurowski is the head coach of the FIL Development Programme. The 36-year-old from Poland switched to the coaching position after his third Olympic participation as an athlete in PyeongChang 2018 and did so very successfully. Ten out of 15 of his athletes in the FIL team qualified for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

Mr. Kurowski, how proud are you as a coach of your team?

Maciej Kurowski: „I am very proud of the whole team. Of course, of the athletes who managed to qualify, but also of the others who did not. I hope that this is just the beginning to work really hard so that their dreams come true as well. My fellow coaches Petr Kinzel, Yuriy Hayduk, Tomáš Kinzel, and Macovei Bogdan Ernest have also played a big part in the success.“

What does your athletic Olympic summary look like?

Maciej Kurowski: „Hmmm that’s a good question and I can only find one good answer to it: „I have very mixed feelings! There were good athletic moments, but also very disappointing ones. As always in life. You have to try to find harmony.“

What was your personal highlight in Beijing 2022?

Maciej Kurowski: „I think the whole Olympic Games were a great highlight for me. The opening ceremony was a very special experience because I had never been there before. Then every run of each of my athletes was very emotional and important for me. As a coach, I was very busy. Sometimes we were at the track all day, but I worked and trained with Yuri very diligently through the whole season and we were a super tight team.“

You have competed in three Winter Olympics. Now that you are coaching for the first time in Beijing 2022, how did you perceive the Olympics, the organization, the local people, and the atmosphere compared to your other experiences?

Maciej Kurowski: „It was of course very great to be back at the Olympics. I was super happy and grateful for this experience. But there were also very difficult conditions on site. I was responsible for a lot of nations as a coach and I couldn’t go to the Olympic Village.
The people in China were super friendly but it was very difficult to talk. It’s a pity because you are in a completely new place, you want to communicate with the people and you want to know more about the country and the people. You want to try the local food and just be able to enjoy these new experiences and time. In China that was not possible. I have been to China twice and I have to say that I only saw the airport, the hotel, and the train. There was unfortunately nothing more in terms of experiencing this country.
Just as an example about Korea 2018, we had a very great dinner then with all the athletes of the FIL group, where we enjoyed the famous Korean barbecue. It was very tasty ;) and we learned a lot about the interesting Korean food culture!“

On Sunday, February 22, the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics took place. Not even two days later, Russia invaded Ukraine and started a war. Your co-trainer in the FIL Development Program is Yuriy Hayduk from Ukraine. Are you in contact with him? How is he doing? What is he currently doing?

Maciej Kurowski: „ Yuriy and I have stayed in touch all the time so far. I always ask him what I can do, how I can help and whether everything is „OK“ for him so far? If you can put it that way. The war is just terrible!
I can’t believe what is happening in Ukraine. I was very sure that Russia would not attack Ukraine just like that. I would never have expected that, but you can see it.... I just hope that everything will be over quickly and we will meet again before winter with broad smiles and we can work together again. I would like to thank everyone who is interested in the fate of Yuriy and our sports friends in Ukraine. You are great, thank you!
My message is: ‘Stop the war, make peace now, and bring love!!!’“