Iga Swiatek joins Polish volleyball team in celebrations as they end 44-year drought to make it to Olympic semifinals; video goes viral

Iga Swiatek joined the Polish volleyball team in celebrations after they ended a 44-year semifinal drought at the Olympics.

Iga Swiatek joins Polish volleyball team in celebrations as they end 44-year drought to make it to Olympic semifinals; video goes viral

Iga Swiatek and Poland men's volleyball team (via Imago)

World No.1 Iga Swiatek celebrated with Poland’s men’s volleyball team after they beat Slovenia to earn a spot in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, their first in 44 years. The volleyball team secured a comfortable three sets to one victory over Slovenia.

The Poles started in grand style securing the first set 25-20. However, the Slovenians bounced back in remarkable fashion to edge 26-24 in the second set. The Poles then reasserted their control in the third, winning it 25-19. They then finished the match strong by winning the fourth set 25-20.

It was the Polish men’s team’s first semifinal qualification in 44 years after they won the gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Games. The Poles had exited in the quarterfinals for six consecutive Olympic Games before Monday (August 5). They have now broken the jinx and were joined in celebration by WTA World No. 1 Swiatek.

FS Video

Swiatek had claimed the bronze medal in the women’s tennis singles after beating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schemiedlova in the third-place match. In a viral video on social media, the 21-year-old was seen cheering the volleyball men’s team with a good handshake before taking a photograph with them.

The Polish volleyball team will wait for their semifinal opponent, with the likes of Italy, France, Japan, Brazil, and the USA in the quarterfinals. They will be hoping to add one medal to Poland’s four medals (one silver and three medals) at the Paris Olympics.

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Emma Raducanu, (in circles) Caroline Wozniacki and Bianca Andreescu (via Imago

Bronze medalist Iga Swiatek admits semifinal loss to Zheng Qinwen has made her a little bit more humble

Iga Swiatek admitted that her semifinal loss to China’s Zheng Qinwen has made her a little bit more humble. The 21-year-old was the favorite to win gold in women’s singles tennis at the Paris Olympics because of her excellent clay form.

During the clay season, she lost only once, winning three titles, including the French Open in June. She had never lost a match at the Roland Garros court for three years and had won the title on four occasions. Surprisingly, Qinwen beat the Polish star 6-2, 7-5. However, Swiatek rebounded in 24 hours to claim bronze.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Via Imago)
I’m happy anyway that I pushed through that and I’m here with a bronze medal. I was maybe a little bit too arrogant with myself because I thought that I handled so much pressure before that I think I’m going to handle this one as well. And now I actually am really motivated to work even harder and I think I’m going to have a little bit more humility.
Iga Swiatek said (via Tenmis365)

The five-time Major winner has withdrawn from the Canadian Open which began on Monday (August 5). She is expected to be back in action at the Cincinnati Open which gets underway on August 11.

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