218 Polish athletes set for Olympic Games opening ceremony
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
27.07.2012 09:57
Over 10,000 athletes, including a Polish team of 218, will be attending the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, which begins at 22.00 CET, Friday evening.
photo - PAP/EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
The athletes at the Games, which run till 12 August and have cost over 11 billion euros to stage, will be battling for 302 sets of medals.
The Polish flag will be carried at the opening ceremony by 2012 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, the first time a woman has carried the flag for Poland at the Olympics.
This will be the third time London has hosted the Olympics, after staging the event in 1908 and 1948.
On Friday morning, the preliminary rounds in the archery competition begin, in which Poles Natalia Lesniak and Rafal Dobrowolski will be taking part.
The Polish 218-strong team is the fourth largest in Poland's Olympic history: 306 athletes took part in the 1980 Moscow games, 288 took part in Munich in 1972 and 263 were sent to Beijing four years ago.
The 2012 London squad includes 60 track and field athletes, 26 rowers and 16 swimmers.
In the past 19 Olympics, Poland has won 261 medals including 62 gold, 80 silver and 119 bronze.
Four years ago, in Beijing, Poland brought home just 10 medals, including 3 gold, 6 silver and 1 bronze. (pg)