More than 1000 athletes on 150 relay teams from 45 nations are getting ready for the World Athletics Relays Silesia21, with just 50 days to go.
Among them is local favourite Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, who will be looking to add to her 4x400m success when she forms part of the home team for the event at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow, Poland, on 1-2 May.
Poland won the women's 4x400m at the last edition of the World Athletics Relays in Yokohama and secured silver in the event at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, with Swiety-Ersetic on both teams.
Retaining the title on her home track is the aim.
&ldquo;I know I'm now facing another crucial stage in my Olympic preparations,&rdquo; said Swiety-Ersetic, a Silesian Sports Ambassador who recently claimed 400m silver and broke her own national indoor record at the European Indoor Championships in Torun.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am going back to training and in 50 days I will face the opposition in my favourite stadium, on my track. I live nearly next door to here. I love running in the Silesian Stadium. I have nothing but good memories from here and I'm looking forward to making history here once again.&nbsp;
&ldquo;On 1-2 May, together with the other girls from the team, we will be aiming for another great race. We will be fighting to defend our title from Yokohama 2019 and to beat the US team again.&rdquo;
Swiety-Ersetic was one of 10 Polish medallists in Torun and many of the main protagonists will be joining her in relay action in the Silesian Stadium.&nbsp;
Four of the medals were won in the 800m events as Joanna Jozwik finished second in the women&rsquo;s final and Patryk Dobek sensationally defeated his more experienced rivals to take gold in the men&rsquo;s event. Jozwik's experience and the newcomer quality of Dobek, a former 400m hurdles specialist, is bound to electrify the audience during the 2x2x400m race. In this rarely-run event, each of the two athletes run 400m twice.
&ldquo;Torun is now history, I'm now focusing on new goals,&rdquo; said Jozwik. &ldquo;One of them is competing at the World Athletics Relays in Silesia.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Me and Patryk Dobek on one relay? That spells a huge challenge, an adventure and a sense of excitement. I have tons of experience in the 800m, while he represented Poland in another event for years and became the European champion at my distance. It will be like fire and ice, a combination of experience with a touch of madness. The fans will not be disappointed.&rdquo;
The World Athletics Relays also serves as qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. As such, it is an important competition for the Polish men's 4x400m team who were denied the chance to race in Torun due to a positive coronavirus result.
&ldquo;We were excluded from Torun by the pandemic. Now it is time for speedy recovery, regeneration and intense training,&rdquo; said Jakub Krzewina. &ldquo;After what happened to us at the European Indoor Championships, we will come back stronger. We are not giving up. A fight for Olympic qualification, in our stadium, that gives you extra motivation.&rdquo;
Silesian voivodeship assembly chairman Jakub Chełstowski said:&nbsp;&ldquo;Fifty days from now we will meet at the World Athletics Relays. It is a major event, the first global athletics meet since the start of the pandemic. It is an honour for our region to host an event of such prestige and international significance.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Naturally, many challenges are also involved. Today, with one-and-a-half months remaining, we are working hard on the preparations. We are currently hosting a delegation from World Athletics. In May we will prove Silesia is capable of putting together great sporting events, even in these difficult times.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Keep in mind that the Silesian Stadium will be hosting top athletes twice in May. Four weeks after the World Athletics Relays, the European Team Championships will be taking place here.&rdquo;
The participants in the World Athletics Relays will be supported by another special team. Four animals, which can be visited by the Silesian locals in the Silesian Zoo, are the mascots of the event. The animal relay is composed of Maji the cheetah, Sprinter the ostrich, Julian the lemur and Lunani the giraffe. The World Athletics Relays Silesia21 team has been taking care of the four friendly creatures, representing various qualities needed to succeed in relay races.
Organisers for World Athletics

50 days to go - World Athletics Relays Silesia21

More than 1000 athletes on 150 relay teams from 45 nations are getting ready for the World Athletics Relays Silesia21, with just 50 days to go.

Four-time world hammer champion Pawel Fajdek, double world pole vault medallist Piotr Lisek and European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic are just some of the Polish stars set to compete at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Silesia on 6 September.
Named in honour of the late 2000 Olympic hammer champion, the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial has always showcased Poland&rsquo;s top athletes and international stars, especially in the hammer.
Fajdek has won the men&rsquo;s hammer at six previous editions of the meeting. His first win came in 2011 and in 2014 he set the meeting record of 83.48m, a mark that was also a Polish record. That marked the start of five consecutive wins at the Skolimowska Memorial, but his run came to an end last year when he was narrowly beaten by European champion Wojciech Nowicki.
Lisek has also notched up numerous victories at the Skolimowska Memorial, winning in 2015, 2018 and 2019. His win in Silesia last year was his final competition before heading to Doha for the World Championships, where he went on to earn the bronze medal.
Swiety-Ersetic is another regular at the meeting. The European champion has finished runner-up in the 400m at the past two editions, and just missed out on victory last year when finishing 0.07 behind Allyson Felix, so she is keen to come out on top this year.
&ldquo;I love the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial,&rdquo; said Swiety-Ersetic. &ldquo;I always get good results at this meeting because the organisers make sure that the competitors are of the highest calibre.&rdquo;
World 1500m bronze medallist Marcin Lewandowski, European shot put champion Michal Haratyk, 2017 European indoor shot put champion Konrad Bukowiecki and European indoor 60m champion Ewa Swoboda are also set to compete at the meeting.
Organisers for World Athletics

Four-time world hammer champion Pawel Fajdek, double world pole vault medallist Piotr Lisek and European 400m champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic are just some of the Polish stars set to compete at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Silesia on 6 September.

Top Polish stars sign up for Skolimowska Memorial

Polish sprinter Justyna Swiety-Ersetic recounts her joy of double European gold in Berlin earlier this year and looks back on an untimely ankle injury in 2017.
<h3> Low</h3>
My low moment came in 2017 when I twisted my ankle in the countdown to the IAAF World Championships &ndash; an injury which hampered my training for six weeks during the heart of the season and prevented me from performing at my best in London.
The preceding winter I had managed to avoid the overuse injuries of previous years and I was in good shape leading into the 2017 indoor campaign. At the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade I won my first individual medal at a major event (with 400m bronze). It was a beautiful and glorious moment.
Then leading into the outdoor season in Hengelo in early June, I ran a 400m PB of 51.15. The performance gave me a lot of joy. It was my third race in four days and proved that neither the travel nor fatigue could stop me. It was also the first time I believed I could break the 51-second barrier for the 400m.
On the back of this, my expectations soared and I believed I could run sub-51 seconds and reach the World Championship final in London &ndash; only for a week later to twist my ankle walking downstairs. Within seconds, my ankle was swollen and the injury turned out to be very serious. My whole world collapsed &ndash; all because of one unfortunate step.
Doctors advised that my season was over but I took up the challenge in the race to be fit for the World Championships. It was tough. Every day I focused on restoring the range of my ankle with mobilisation exercises with the physio. My entire day was devoted to the recovery plan. It was, honestly, the worst time of my life.
I spent six weeks in rehab before I could return to the track but I found it impossible to complete even a simple warm-up. I finished every practice with tears in my eyes. I was putting my whole heart into training with no visible improvements and that hurt the most.
At the World Championships I finished sixth in my heat (in a time of 53.62). I wanted to prove to myself I could still perform to my best, but with the benefit of hindsight I regret that I took up the challenge to compete in London and maybe I should have listened to doctors to call time on the season.
<h3> High</h3>
There is little doubt the high moment of my career came at this year&rsquo;s European Championships when I won two gold medals (in the 400m and 4x400m) in 90 minutes.
The foundation of my success came during the winter season under my coach, Aleksander Matusinski. While the training remained very similar to previous years, we focused more on the smaller details &ndash; such as recovery, sports psychology and nutrition &ndash; which can make all the difference at the top level.
Before the season my coach had set a target of two gold medals in Berlin and for me to run a sub-51-second 400m. I am happy to say the plan was executed to perfection.
The 2018 season went very well. I was in good shape (Swiety-Ersetic set a PB of 51.05 in Osaka) and I had big expectations going into the European Championships.
My memories of Berlin were beautiful and glorious. I won the individual 400m (in a PB of 50.41). It was a magical moment, although I could hardly comprehend how I did it. With my parents, husband, brother and his fianc&eacute;e watching from the stands, it made my victory even more special. I can only articulate it as indescribable joy.
After my individual race I was so tired and I felt I had no energy to race again 90 minutes later in the 4x400m. After all, running two races in such a short timeframe is madness!
Yet between races I spoke to my psychologist to act as a motivation. I had my concerns up until the last call but I was determined to finish the championship with two gold medals.
Waiting to receive the baton for the final leg is always nerve-wracking and there is a certain pressure and expectation running anchor. Yet to have the opportunity to bring home the team in first place was an amazing feeling.
To win two gold medals in one night is an experience I will always remember and it gives me so much motivation to work even harder in the future.
Steve Landells for the IAAF

Polish sprinter Justyna Swiety-Ersetic recounts her joy of double European gold in Berlin earlier this year and looks back on an untimely ankle injury in 2017.

50 days to go - World Athletics Relays Silesia21

Top Polish stars sign up for Skolimowska Memorial

High and low – Justyna Swiety-Ersetic