Inside Polish Sports

Kuba Widlarz
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Sports
  • Updated Semiweekly

An English language weekly magazine show giving the inside view on Polish sports hosted by Kuba Widlarz. Your go-to place to find all the news, views and discussion about one of Europe’s most passionate sporting cultures and its athletes. It’s the world’s first English-language podcast devoted entirely to the Biało-Czerwoni. Join me (and my occasional guest panelist Irish Dave), for a full round-up of the biggest stories involving Polish athletes globally as well as historical pieces dedicated entirely to the rich fabric of Polish sporting history.

  1. 6h ago

    What Happens Next?

    So in the fortnight that I've been on a job hunting break so many things happened that it would be apt to quote Macklemore and say that Polish sport, both on and off the field, is in "an F-ed up position". Exhibit A is Iga and the most inexplicable collapse of her career against Qinwen Zheng. The problem with her right now is not the opponents, the injuries or the coaching staff. It's simply that she cares very much about playing and the greatness that we forced upon her since she was in grade school. And at age 25 it's still too early for her to have found the experience or meaning in life outside of the courts. She is the most public when winning or losing but in private she is isolated, which is the exact opposite of the structure that Tennis stars need. Exhibit B is the Polish Olympic Committee, now liberated from Radosław Piesiewicz but still needing a complete overhaul and kumbaya with the great Olympians who have been shunned by the previous regime, most notably Justyna Kowalczyk. Exhibit C is Jagiellonia Białystok whose manager texted with one of the linesmen last season to tell the ref in a crucial match to go easy on the bookings. Maybe not as bad a sin as Luciano Moggi speed dialling every ref in Italy during Calciopoli 20 years ago, but still something for which Jaga must suspend him before PZPN/Ekstraklasa give out bigger punishments. Also, why Rodrigo de Paul taunting Lewy about not having won a World Cup is understandable purely from the Argentinian chauvinistic mindset, Damian Knyba moves closer to a heavyweight title shot by dispatching Andy Ruiz whilst Michał Cieślak becomes a Cruiserweight champ, but in accordance with Boxing's absurd system not the champion. Hubert Wagner and the 1976 Volleyball Gold retrospective coming up on Friday or Saturday. Interview Episode next week.

  2. Sep 3

    Watch Your Billboards

    Well who would have thought......... That the guy who was never an athlete or an Olympian himself yet posed on sponsorship billboards with our Olympians. Who used the Okęcie Airport VIP lounge for him and his family at least 35 times in just the first 18 months of his chairmanship. Who spent 12 million of our public złotys on a Polish House for our athletes in Paris which cost 30 euro to even walk into. Who gave our medalists from Milano/Cortina prize money in form of tokens and not cash while knowing that the exchange will go bust. Has now been arrested and charged with two counts, including one in which he accepted a 40,000 euro watch as a bribe from the head of that said crypto exchange that has now gone bust. I would've never guessed.............

  3. Aug 28

    Kozakiewicz Gesture Retrospective

    On this historical retrospective we take a look back at perhaps the most consequential image in Polish sporting history. It is a moment the place of which in time is not at all separate from what happened outside of the sporting arena. On July 30, 1980 Władysław Kozakiewicz fought for Olympic pole vault gold against no less than three Soviets in front of a straight up abusive Moscow crowd. Yet once he cleared the bar at 5.70 meters, for a split second, he let the Russians know what he thought of them. Afterwards, both the Polish and USSR governments wanted to strip him of gold and the world record. But the one party who could not scrub the image out of their minds were a weary and downtrodden countrymen. Just 15 days later the Gdańsk Shipyard workers went on strike, and the country and Europe as a whole would never be the same! *This is a reupload from April 9, 2025*

  4. Aug 26

    When Is It Enough?

    In the early hours of Friday morning a 36-year-old head of Hutnik Kraków hooligans was beaten to the end of his life by nine people who claimed to be supporting Wisła but, just like all others who over the years have committed violence with Football as an alibi, are an affront to the sport and to our society. Whilst those senseless crimes between sets of club scarves Also, apparently we aren't done writing Radosław Piesiewicz's future indictment because last year he accepted a gold-cased watch worth 40,000 euros from..........the CEO of the crypto exchange that sponsored the Polish Olympic Committee, which Piesiewicz is still inexplicably the head of, and defaulted on $800 million. And a technically belated(Announced last week but this weekend was his first GP in charge) congrats to Marcin Budkowski, the new team principal of Cadillac F1! Hopefully the maiden point will come sooner than later............. Beskid and Kraków Challenger interviews in a separate episode that will drop on Thursday at the latest. I promise!

  5. Aug 19

    Any Questions?!

    Can we please bring Elway with Iga to every tournament from now on?! After 326 days it was once again Świątek Piątek(Czwartek) in Toronto as Elena Rybakina was on the back end our legend's 26th career Singles title. And what Iga said at both the trophy ceremony and press conference is even more valuable and noteworthy to anyone who has been doubting and doubted as an athlete and more broadly as a valuable human. Also, Katarzyna Wilk-Wasick beat three world record holders to become Europe's fastest swimmer, no golds but plenty of silvers and bronzes on the track in Birmingham, how the hell is the cap worn by the Polish Speedway champion still awarded in spite of being gifted by the Soviets?, and an update on Kacper Prokopiak and how he'll fly soon to Elmira, New York to play in the NAHL despite no yet having the full funds. Match report from Beskid Andrychów vs Pcimianka Pcim drops on Friday.

  6. Aug 12

    Watch Your Excuse

    This weekend proved that it is not just the general populace that can be ignorant of athletes, their virtue, faults and humanity. Whilst Iga Świątek was steaming thru her best tournament this season in Toronto, Professor Ewa Woydyłło was calling her a "stupid and fearful girl" whilst her comments on Aryna Sabalenka do not even deserve to be printed. At least she had the nerve and courtesy to apologise which can't be said for any bots commenting below that now-deleted podcast. Whilst on Friday Kasia Niewiadoma rocked the Cycling world by destroying Mont Ventoux and taking the Tour de France yellow jersey in a ride that left me and all other Poles watching in awe, if not in tears. 24 hours later she had lost the lead and vented out her frustrations on a 20-year Frenchwoman, who later inexplicably got death threats for her rookie mistake in the heat of competition from those you can never realise that it was just that and that the ladies can forgive each other for both words and action. Also, Lewy scores again, Arek Milik scores for the first time since Charli XCX's Brat came out and my personal tribute to Unia Oświęcim's former MC/On-Ice Entertainer extraordinaire Zdzisław Kozaczek. Kacper Prokopiak's fundraiser: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

  7. Aug 4

    Lungs Fever

    This weekend just proved that our greatest sporting moments come when the need to make a living from a given sport is not guaranteed. Our volleyball internationals barely earn a tenth that of their Football counterparts, but have now won three Nations League titles in four years, eight major tournament golds since 2009 and Nikola Grbic is nine for nine as a head coach in finishing on the podium. Bartłomiej Kubkowski and Karolina Szczepaniak's motivation wasn't for their own gain but to raise money for Cancer Fighters and 14-year old Piotrek by swimming the frosty and murky waters of the Baltic from Sweden to Western Pomerania over 100 miles. Meanwhile, on the Football side of things the general mindset is not only lazy, but Stanisław Mrożek's Tango level of decadent. Especially at Lech Poznań whose budget this season is US$53.67 million yet who can't even make it past ONE BLOODY ROUND of Champions League qualifying by dropping a three-goal first-leg lead AT HOME against a Danish side that last played in the competition when Through the Barricades by Spandau Ballet was topping the charts! Forgive me for not doing the Montreal 1976 retrospectives yet but I'm at the physios this week and the next, and also it was too humid to travel to Kraków for Kajakowy Narodowy on Sunday so the interview with Klaudia Zwolińska will come at a later time. Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

  8. Jul 29

    Roll Credits for Fabian

    It is kinda fitting that in the month that Nolan's The Odyssey came out the Homeric journey of movie lover Łukasz Fabiański came to an end at the age of 41. Fabian would've been remembered mearly as a great number two keeper behind the likes of Boruc and Szczęsny if it wasn't for his leap of faith in 2014. I will talk about how the move from Arsenal to Swansea and later West Ham truly made him unforgettable and brought him a European winner's medal and us some of the best moments from Euro 2016(Which in the perfect world he would've won too!). Enjoy the popcorn Łukasz! Also, Wisła's victorious Ekstraklasa return features a smokation break, Matuesz Bogusz makes up for Lewy's initial MLS goal drought, there is a 13 year old from my hometown who's really good at Karting and how the curse of Polish heavyweight title pursuit is best characterised by why Mariusz Wach only fought Tyson Fury for Netflix purposes and not in a live broadcast(It has something to do with Ben Johnson's beloved stanozolol). Interview with Klaudia Zwolinska(and maybe Michał Pasiut too) in next week's review. Also by Sunday I'll upload the first of the Montreal 1976 retrospectives. Fundraiser for Kacper Prokopiak: https://pomagam.pl/ba4naw

See All (52)

About

An English language weekly magazine show giving the inside view on Polish sports hosted by Kuba Widlarz. Your go-to place to find all the news, views and discussion about one of Europe’s most passionate sporting cultures and its athletes. It’s the world’s first English-language podcast devoted entirely to the Biało-Czerwoni. Join me (and my occasional guest panelist Irish Dave), for a full round-up of the biggest stories involving Polish athletes globally as well as historical pieces dedicated entirely to the rich fabric of Polish sporting history.

Information

  • Creator
    Kuba Widlarz
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Inside Polish Sports