ANDREJCZYK Maria

General
REVENGE FROM RIO
She finished fourth at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after leading the qualifying round with a 67.11m throw that would have won the final. She says the result gives her extra motivation for Tokyo. "The fact that I won the qualification was a huge a shock for me, it was a world-class result. Then I started to contact people in Poland too much and did not focus enough on the competition itself. I should not have made that mistake, but I was only 20 at that time. It was painful I couldn't repeat my qualification result in the final, but it keeps me motivated. I have this desire to take revenge. And I know that I won't stop until I get what I want. In some ways I'm grateful I didn't win that medal. I shed so many tears, but those two centimetres that separated me from gold are now my biggest motivation to fight for my dreams." (olimpsport.com, 14 Jan 2021; legalnibukmacherzy.pl, 01 Jul 2019; podlaskie24.pl, 13 Apr 2019)

POSITIVE POSTPONEMENT
She says the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will allow her to be better prepared after she suffered injury problems in early 2020. "From the beginning [2020] didn't go the way I wanted due to injuries. I didn't give up and fought as much as I could, but when I found out that the Games were rescheduled to 2021, I thought it was like a gift from heaven. I never thought I'd get this chance." (interia.pl, 11 Apr 2020)

UNIVERSITY SWITCH
She transferred her studies in English and Russian philology from the University of Bialystok to the State Higher Vocational School in Suwalki, Poland, to live closer to her coach Karol Sikorski. "I do everything for sport. I liked it in Bialystok, I found a great group, great people and lecturers. I regret that I moved a little bit because I had already settled there, but because my coach is from Sejny, he has a family and a job there, I had to move to Suwalki." (podlaskie24.pl, 13 Apr 2019)