At the forefront of Polish rowing

Fularczyk started rowing on the international scene 12 years ago when she first raced at the World Rowing Junior Championships at age 16 and took silver. She then went on to medal at the under-23 level in 2007 and 2008, both times in the double, and continued in her winning ways at senior level, starting with a silver at the European Rowing Championships in 2008.

When Fularczyk joined with former top single sculler Julia Michalska in 2009, success came quickly. The duo won Poland’s first senior women’s gold at the 2009 World Rowing Championships on their home waters in Poznan, Poland. Their partnership continued through to a 2012 Olympic Games bronze. Following Michalska’s retirement, Fularczyk found a new partner in Madaj.

Madaj’s rowing path was different. She has raced in all sculling boat classes and, while Fularczyk was focusing on the double, Madaj was entrenched in the quadruple sculls. Madaj calls the quad her favourite boat.

World Rowing talked to the duo on the shores of Lake Aiguebelette during the World Rowing Cup. Relaxed and confident, despite being in the middle of racing, Madaj admitted, “The quad is a really fast boat, I like it. In the double we have more control, only me and you. It’s different, but I don’t know – faster would be better.”

The duo first started racing together in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. “But we were still really young and we didn’t qualify. For the next four years we rowed with a different crew,” says Fularczyk.  “This year the coach wanted to try a new crew, so we have been rowing together (in a double) for one and a half months, which is not too long. But I think we are good athletes and we have the same ideas about rowing. We are not very tall, but we have a big heart for the sport.”

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Madaj adds, “We have a really good cooperation.  Magda always supports me. Last year when we started in Chungju she was sitting behind me in the quad, and I know I can always trust her 100 per cent.”

This season the duo are reliant on the coach’s decision on the boat they will row. “We didn’t think about the goals, because we just wanted to have a good performance when we start.  For now we’re not sure we’ll continue in the double because our coach might want us to go back to the quad,” says Fularczyk.

Out of the boat the duo get on well. “We love rowing, but we don’t talk about it all the time,” says Madaj. “We laugh together, sometimes she’s moody, but I like her.”

Laughing together Fularczyk says, “I’m not an optimistic person. The last four years I was rowing in the double with Julia and she was the most optimistic, so it was different. But now, it’s really, really good and we want to finish with this crew in Rio.”

Women’s rowing in Poland is just starting to get its footing. But the success of this boat over the past few years will hopefully inspire the young generation to give the sport a try. “We feel proud that women’s rowing in Poland is getting success. For us it is a big motivation when we go for competition and take good results. We want to work and train harder,” says Madaj.

After a successful season so far, the duo used these races as training for the ultimate goal, the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands.