Warsaw (Poland) Feb 20: Poland's Alpine skier MarynaGasienica-Daniel is optimistic of a medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, after having had the best season of her career so far.
After taking sixth place at the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, 27-year-old Gasienica-Daniel is now aiming to stand on the Olympic podium in Beijing next year.
"In Polish alpine skiing there hasn't been anyone for a long time who would fight against the world's leaders. Maybe next time we will talk after winning the gold medal. If you ask me about the Winter Olympics, I will reply that you can never predict the future. All you can do is work hard and believe that this work will pay off," Gasienica-Daniel told Polish media on Friday.
"My good performance at the World Championships showed that I can achieve a lot. I was fighting for a medal and I'm sure I made huge progress. I'm aware of the fact that I'm among the top athletes right now. I hope my beautiful story will be continued," the athlete added.
Gasienica-Daniel claimed that she has already been thinking about preparations for Beijing 2022.
"First of all, I want to finish this season on a high, in the top 15 of the Giant Slalom. Next year, the Winter Olympics in Beijing will be the most important, although I will treat World Cup competitions equally seriously," she told reporters.
Polish Ski Association chairman ApoloniuszTajner agrees that Gasienica-Daniel will be fighting for a medal in Beijing as "her last results were a good prognosis". He also referred to 19-year-old Magdalena Luczak, who made her debut at the World Championships and took 19th position.
"Both our athletes did a great job. Maryna confirmed that she is among the world's best, so her result, although very good, was not such a surprise. She has been in top shape since the beginning of this season. In Italy she confirmed her class," Tajner concluded.
Source: Xinhua