When the stadium lights go off, I come back to Masuria – Natalia Bukowiecka says. – And I go back to Podlasie – adds Maria Andrejczyk. The athletics stars appeared in a clip for the Polish Tourism Organisation. They invite the viewers for a visit to Poland's natural beauties.
The Polish Tourism Organisation knows how to promote our country abroad. Therefore we are happy to see the inclusion in its list of attractions of the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, which in 2024, as a Diamond League meeting, became the best one-day competition in the history of the sport. The stars shine bright at the event, but the tens of thousands of fans in the Silesian Stadium cheer not just for global athletes. Much of what is good comes from here, inside the national team.
That is the reason for incluing two Olympic medalists in the clip promoting Poland: Natalia Bukowiecka (formerly Kaczmarek), third in the Paris 400 metres final and Maria Andrejczyk, the javelin throw runner-up in Tokyo, whose personal best has only ever been bettered by two other athletes.
Both athletes lead fast-paced lives. They spend over 300 days a year away from home, which is why they appreciate every moment spent at home all the more. They stress this: having travelled abroad so much, having seen so many hotels, cities, stadiums and cultures, they have a good basis for comparison. They believe Poland, with its society, attractions, natural resources and traditions, is worth every moment spent here. That is why, even though they get invited for competitions all around the world, they will always prefer to compete at home. The calendar usually allows for this. The date of the Diamond League is Silesia is always circled with a thick marker. And not only this one meeting, as the athletes visit different regions of the country every year. Every one of them has something to offer.
- This is our home, which we wanted to show. We recorded the clip to invite you to our world. To show you around – Andrejczyk said.
Maria, who presents the serenity of Podlasie in the clip, has proven her attachment to her home land. She recently returned to Poland from Finland, where she had moved after the Tokyo Olympics. She missed her home, the quietness of the forests and the walks with her dog. There could have been only one decision. In the PTO clip she presents to the viewers her favourite locaions in the region: the Stańczyki railway viaducts, the Cisowa Mountain and the Suwałki lakes, the Wigry National Park and the Czarna Hańcza river.
- It is the ideal place for recovery. You will be given a hug by peace and harmony – she assured. She often travels there with her dog.
- The area in which Bukowiecka lives – Warmia and Masuria – offers very different possibilities. For Natalia, the best lakes are those that can be sailed on. Possibly also those you can watch from the shore, which she enjoys doing on the city beach in Olsztyn, on Lake Ukiel. From there, if she is not running, she loves to take a walk towards the Old City.
- Sometimes, when I am far away from home, I think about these spaces. About the memories connected to them. You will know what I am talking about when you drop by to take a swim, to run around the area, to take advantage of all possibilities that the water offers. If you have not been to Warchały on the Świętajno lake, you do not know Masuria. I have to admit Szczytno, the home town of my husband Konrad, is great as well. The castle there is a magnet for tourists. All of those places are close to each other, so I recommend you use a bike – the runner said with a wink. - This mode of transport is the best way to get some variety after what I do on the track.
- I am aware we are ambassadors of Poland. But this is not just about our results and the fact that our appearances give publicity to our country. When someone asks about it, we recommend as many places as we can. That, in my opinion, is also patriotism – Andrejczyk concluded.
The spot was made in cooperation between the Polish Diamond League meeting and the Polish Tourism Organisation, and was filmed in autumn in Masuria, Podlasie and Silesia. It was prepared by the Visual Heads advertising agency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjDZfnwwRSM
