Veteran Polish driver Sobiesław Zasada made history yesterday despite not being able to cross the finish line of the grueling Safari Rally in Kenya.
The 91-year-old survived four days in the scorching African sun and rough off-road terrain of “the world’s toughest auto rally” as the oldest competitor in the history of the World Rally Championship.
Three kilometers before the finish stage, Zasada’s rally car was immobilized after being stuck in deep ruts and later being hit by two other cars, according to journalist Patryk Miciuk, who was on the scene.
Before the accident, Zasada had been in 25th place overall, ahead of some rivals almost 70 years his junior. One of those rivals was his 37-year-old grandson, Daniel Chwist, who finished fourth in the WRC-3 category and 17th overall.
Zasada is a three-time European rally champion and one of Poland’s most acclaimed drivers, with a career spanning nearly seven decades. He took part in his first auto rally in 1952.
Source: Radio Poland, www.auto-motor-i-sport.pl
Organizers have canceled this year’s reenactment of the 1410 Battle of Grunwald, one of the biggest battles of medieval Europe, citing health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement marks the second time the event has been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Poland early last year. In previous years, thousands of fans and enthusiasts from across Europe and beyond flocked to northern Poland in mid-July for the annual staging of the famous battle.
Fought 611 years ago on July 15, 1410, the Battle of Grunwald saw Polish King Władysław Jagiełło and his army of allied Polish and Lithuanian forces crush the Knights of the Teutonic Order. The battle is considered to be one of the most glorious and significant military victories in Polish history.
Source: Radio Poland
Poland’s film community is paying tribute to renowned director Krzysztof Kieślowski to mark the 80th anniversary of his birth on June 27, 1941.
Special exhibitions and events are being hosted at The National Centre for Film Culture in Łódź, location of the famous film school where Kieślowski studied, as well as in the village of Sokołowsko, near Wałbrzych, where the filmmaker spent his teenage years.
Warsaw’s National Audiovisual Institute is also honoring Kieślowski by featuring a selection of his documentaries and feature films as well as panel discussions with prominent directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Feliks Falk.
Kieślowski achieved international critical and popular success for films such as The Decalogue series, The Double Life of Veronique, and The Three Colours trilogy. He passed away in 1996 at the age of 54.
Source: Radio Poland, PAP
Polish athletes had a notable weekend, taking second place in volleyball and table tennis competitions at home and abroad.
The Polish men’s national volleyball team took silver in the Nations League yesterday after losing 1-3 to Brazil in the finals, held in the Italian Adriatic resort of Rimini.
Poland’s Jakub Dyjas and Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck also took silver yesterday in the men’s doubles at the European Table Tennis Championships in Warsaw. The Pole and the Belgian finished runners-up after they were beaten in four sets 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11 by Russia’s Lev Katsman and Maksim Grebnev in the championship match.
The event featured more than 200 male and female competitors from 20 countries, among them Poland’s multiple Olympian and Paralympian Natalia Partyka. Dyjas’ silver was the only medal for Poland at the championships, which ended in Warsaw on Sunday.
Source: Radio Poland
Weather
Today will be mostly sunny, with a light breeze coming in from the northeast and a very slight chance of rain mid-afternoon. Temperatures will peak around a high of 23°C, or 74°F, staying warm overnight with a low of only 14°C or 57°F. Additional sun and warmer temps will return tomorrow, with a chance for rain later in the week.
EPeck/pb
