WARSAW: “After Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 I was fulfilled and I think the day I was standing on the podium was the best in my life,” Polish legendary gymnast Leszek Blanik told media in a recent interview.
On home soil, the Chinese athletes were seen as favorites and they met the expectations.
Blanik was the only European gymnast who took a gold, and he claimed the first gymnastics title for Poland in its Olympic history with 16.537 points.
“I remember that in the period of 11 months I won the world championship, the European title and the Olympic gold. China organized the event perfectly… I was happy and fulfilled when I also stood on the highest podium. I achieved the greatest success in my career so I have really good memories from China,” said Blanik.
The Polish legend also told an anecdote from Beijing 2008. “After the triumph the Chinese journalists were interested in me.
They requested an interview and I agreed, but I thought there would be short conversation in the Olympic village. Instead of that, the Chinese journalists drove me to the TV studio and I had a live performance. I was stressed as I didn’t speak English fluently,” laughed Blanik.
The 43-year-old is still the most titled gymnast in Polish sport.
“I dreamed about the Olympic gold for over twenty years and these dreams came true in China. In the first days I couldn’t believe that it was real. I had known that a lot of Polish people had supported me. Today I’m proud that I came up with their hopes,” concluded Blanik. – Agencies
