Coach Tomasz Kryk enjoys great respect and recognition in the kayaking community, and among journalists he has a reputation for being an open and accessible conversationalist. After the start of the women's foursome, which came just off the podium, he needed a moment to himself. Then he talked a bit with me and a colleague working for Interia, and his words were full of bitterness. He also signaled certain problems, although he did not want to elaborate on all the issues. “It's not worth it,” he said sadly.
Agnieszka Niedziałek*: You and your competitors are used to medals, but this time, in the case of the four, there was a return to the unlucky fourth place…
Tomasz Kryk: This is the third time in my career that I am in this situation. I have already been through this during the London Games, Tokyo Games and now. The fourth place is disappointing for the public, but these are Olympic Games! We gave a lot of ourselves to win this fourth place. Only or as much as fourth. After Tokyo it seemed that we would be a bit higher, that there would be a medal position. It ended up behind the podium. But I am happy with the girls and I am waiting for Friday's starts of the twos.
Do you think that the disappointment after the result of the foursome could affect the performance of Karolina Nai and Anna Puławska in the twosome?
Karolina is in this situation for the second time. In London, at the beginning of our journey together, she also started from fourth place in the foursome, and then there was bronze in the twosome. After every defeat, you can get back up. I think that the result of the foursome will not affect her next start. She and Ania are experienced, they will cope.
Do you think that in the case of the four, the beginning of the distance has now been decided?
I don't know. I haven't talked to Karolina yet. [rozmowa odbyła się ok. godzinę po starcie czwórki – red.]. I gave the girls some space. I didn't want to push or say right away what my impressions were. And the camera jumps around and it's hard to focus because you can't see your village all the time. It's probably a bit below your capabilities… Oh well.
Which of those fourth places at the games hurt you the most? Were your hopes the highest now because of all the medals you've won in recent years?
They are all similar. As if I didn't point out one medal as the most valuable, because each one has different stories, different competitors. It's the same with the fourth places. The pressure and expectations of the public opinion were high. It's always like that. People don't write about kayaking every day, don't do interviews and don't come to training camps. It's only in the last period that it's intensified. The girls coped with it perfectly. You couldn't see that they were tense, that something was bothering them before the final. That's what sport is like – brutal.
Were the pressure and expectations greater now than before the previous Games?
Tokyo was specific. We were one of the few who traveled a lot to training camps. We could train at home, we followed our own path apart from all that. And in other countries, the postponement of the games by a year greatly disrupted the issue of the composition of the crews. So you can't compare this situation that much.
On the occasion of these Games, the situation has already returned to normal and the real balance of power is visible?
It's starting to come back now. For me, it was definitely the most difficult period of all four Olympic preparations. The last few months, I don't even know why, I felt it very strongly. I've reached the limits of my endurance. You have to think about what will happen. Although there's still Friday and Saturday. There can't be any declarations now.
What was this pushing beyond the limits of endurance all about?
I won't say it. It's not always worth saying it. It doesn't pay off. Let's leave it at that. I know, it's necessary for clicks, it's nice to read such titles…
But it's not always about clicks. It would be an opportunity to show reality.
That's after the competition. Talking about it now won't change anything. Fourth place is still fourth place. Such is the sport, such is the reality.
You said you gave the competitors some space right after the start. Did you need it too?
Everyone needs it. We usually focus on playerscoaches are rarely mentioned. I have 16 years of working with women behind me and my emotional resilience has reached its limits. I am starting to wonder more and more often. I still have – hopefully – a few years of life ahead of me. There is also a family – a wife, a son after studies. Different thoughts, different variants are starting to appear.
Referring to the issue of emotional resilience – is it a matter of the passage of time or of increasingly bigger or new problems?
The fact is that I am getting older and the passage of time can also do its thing. A minister once asked me what is the most difficult thing and what we need. I think that the most difficult thing is always to maintain motivation to work, determination, a certain work culture, organization and such arrangement of everything. This – in my opinion – is the main problem in Polish sportsnot money.
I remember you mentioned this to us during the Tokyo Olympics. Has nothing changed since then?
I honestly told everything in 2016 at a conference in Spała. It was after winning two Olympic medals in Rio de Janeiro. And it's not worth it [tego powtarzać – red.]. Because this will be a discussion again in the next month, maybe two, and then everything will go on as before.
Is this Thursday performance of the four a kind of ending to a project that has been very important to you over the last few years?
There were assumptions to build this settlement. I don't know what will happen with Karolina. We talked about certain plans, with Dominika Putto too. The slogan of the Los Angeles games was mentioned. The question is also what the new board, which will be elected soon, will think about it. Today it's too early for many things, absolutely.
On the subject of Nai – in an interview for TVP after the start of the foursome, she thanked her colleagues from the crew for the entire preparation period. It sounded a bit like a farewell.
No, that was a summary. She has four Olympic medals, Ania – two. You always want the other girls to have such a medal too.
*Tomasz Kalemba from Interia also took part in the conversation.