Sunday marked the conclusion of Poland’s first ever official Snow Volleyball National Championships. In the men’s competition, Dariusz Tkaczuk and Tomasz Wierzbicki won gold by beating Kaczmarski/Okrzeja 2-1 (12-10; 9-11; 11-7). But it was in the women’s competition that fans saw something unexpected, as 2016 Rio beach volleyball Olympian and former Junior World Champion Monika Brzostek partnered up with Dorota Strąg all the way to the gold medal, where they beat Justyna Tylutki and Joanna Wiatr 2-0 (3-11, 5-11).
This is surely a huge turn of events for Brzostek, who only recently announced a time off from the beach to take care of her first born:
“It was difficult to reconcile training with caring for a child. In fact, I couldn’t spend as much time as I would like with neither the sport or my son, and I do not like to do something half-heartedly. If I am already making something, it has to be at one hundred percent. I am sorry that I had to put Kolisinska and our coach in this situation, I really though I would’ve been able to handle this, but it turned out to be different. I won’t retire though. I’m not finishing my career! At this moment I am not logistically able to train with my full-time staff due to the fact that I became a mother a few months ago. I will train and play.”
What is driving beach players to try their hand in the snow game? Maybe Krystian Kaczmarski, the men’s silver medalist in the competition, has the answer:
Playing on the snow is certainly something different. It’s slippery, wet and it’s very easy to bury yourself, both when you’re defending and attacking. It does not bother me, it’s a great adventure, and for people who are strongly connected with beach volleyball, it is a repetition of those emotions and rivalries that provide, for example, Open Beach tournaments in the summer.
Luckily for fans, it looks like Brzostek was able to tap into those emotions and is now having fun at the sport again. She even shared this beautiful picture with her fans in Instagram, as mom and baby enjoyed the gold medal:
Walka w pierwszych w historii oficjalnych Mistrzostwach Polski w siatkówce na śniegu:)! pic.twitter.com/eg7Djmd1aw
— Monika Brzostek (@wpiaskownicy) March 11, 2018
Pierwsze złoto w pierwszych Mistrzostwach Polski w siatkówce na śniegu:)! pic.twitter.com/pnG8jLe4cU
— Monika Brzostek (@wpiaskownicy) March 11, 2018
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